Bacterial strain identified that ‘may support plant growth in space’

Discovery could help astronauts to grow own food in space stations, university says

Researchers identified novel bacterial strains on flights by the International Space Station (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Scientists have identified new bacterial strains that they said could potentially support plant growth in space.

The discovery could help astronauts grow their own food in space stations, otherwise known as “space farming”, according to an Indian university involved in the research.

New bacterial strains were identified from different locations on the International Space Station during flights.

Scientists found the presence of genes involved in promoting plant growth in genome analysis of the new strains as part of the research, published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology.

The findings may help in creating “fuel” which could support plants in withstanding stressful environments such as space, according to the University of Hyderabad, whose scientists worked with researchers in the US - including from Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory - for the study.

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The study’s lead authors said the strains could possess “biotechnologically useful genetic determinants that may help growing plants in extreme places where resources are minimal”.

For astronauts on the International Space Station, cargo ships transport their food to them, unlike the early days of space travel when food took the form of cubes and “semi-liquids stuffed inside tubes”, according to Nasa.

In a paper published in The Journal of Nutrition last year, Nasa scientists outlined the requirements and challenges of creating a food system that can support missions between low-Earth orbit and Mars - which looked at nutrition, safety and reliability.

“Prepackaged foods are a great candidate because they are easy to prepare, easy to consume. They already have a safe and long history in spaceflight, but there are some challenges with them—that nutrition and quality degrade over time,” Grace Douglas, a Nasa scientist, said.

“So, on longer missions, it would be nice to get a fresh component.”

There may be issues over the reliability of growing food on space missions, she added.

 “One of the big concerns with growing food is that if it doesn’t grow and you were depending on it, now you have insufficient food, which can be a very, very big concern when you’re going on these missions,” Ms Douglas said.

Nasa astronauts said last year that the first ever space-grown lettuce was as safe to eat as one grown on earth.

The food was part of an experiment involving crowns grown in individually sealed units of ceramic soil under red LED lighting for over a month.

The year before, China successfully germinated a seed taken to the Moon, making it the first time any biological matter had grown in space.

Further research is underway to determine what the discovery of the new bacterial strains found on the ISS could mean for space farming, according to the University of Hyderabad.