Detection of Fungi from Low-Biomass Spacecraft Assembly Clean Room Aerosols

Astrobiology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 1585-1593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Zhang ◽  
Cong-Xin Xin ◽  
Lan-Tao Zhang ◽  
Yu-Lin Deng ◽  
Xiang Wang ◽  
...  
Astrobiology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 1140-1154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra Schwendner ◽  
Christine Moissl-Eichinger ◽  
Simon Barczyk ◽  
Maria Bohmeier ◽  
Rüdiger Pukall ◽  
...  

2013 ◽  
Vol 63 (Pt_7) ◽  
pp. 2463-2471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Parag Vaishampayan ◽  
Christine Moissl-Eichinger ◽  
Rüdiger Pukall ◽  
Peter Schumann ◽  
Cathrin Spröer ◽  
...  

Two strains of aerobic, non-motile, Gram-reaction-positive cocci were independently isolated from geographically distinct spacecraft assembly clean room facilities (Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA and Centre Spatial Guyanais, Kourou, French Guiana). A polyphasic study was carried out to delineate the taxonomic identity of these two isolates (1P05MAT and KO_PS43). The 16S rRNA gene sequences exhibited a high similarity when compared to each other (100 %) and lower than 96.7 % relatedness with Arthrobacter crystallopoietes ATCC 15481T, Arthrobacter luteolus ATCC BAA-272T, Arthrobacter tumbae DSM 16406T and Arthrobacter subterraneus DSM 17585T. In contrast with previously described Arthrobacter species, the novel isolates maintained their coccidal morphology throughout their growth and did not exhibit the rod–coccus life cycle typically observed in nearly all Arthrobacter species, except A. agilis . The distinct taxonomic identity of the novel isolates was confirmed based on their unique cell-wall peptidoglycan type (A.11.20; Lys-Ser-Ala2) and polar lipid profile (presence of phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, an unknown phospholipid and two unknown glycolipids). The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 70.6 mol%. The novel strains revealed MK-9(H2) and MK-8(H2) as dominant menaquinones and exhibited fatty acid profiles consisting of major amounts of anteiso-C15 : 0 and anteiso-C17 : 0 and moderate amounts of iso-C15 : 0 discriminating them again from closely related Arthrobacter species. Based on these observations, the authors propose that strains 1P05MAT and KO_PS43 be assigned into a separate genus Tersicoccus gen. nov. For this new taxon, comprising strains 1P05MAT and KO_PS43, we propose the name Tersicoccus phoenicis gen. nov., sp. nov. (the type species of Tersicoccus), represented by the type strain Tersicoccus phoenicis 1P05MAT ( = NRRL B-59547T = DSM 30849T).


2010 ◽  
Vol 76 (9) ◽  
pp. 2837-2845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Probst ◽  
Parag Vaishampayan ◽  
Shariff Osman ◽  
Christine Moissl-Eichinger ◽  
Gary L. Andersen ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Although the cultivable and noncultivable microbial diversity of spacecraft assembly clean rooms has been previously documented using conventional and state-of-the-art molecular techniques, the occurrence of obligate anaerobes within these clean rooms is still uncertain. Therefore, anaerobic bacterial communities of three clean-room facilities were analyzed during assembly of the Mars Science Laboratory rover. Anaerobic bacteria were cultured on several media, and DNA was extracted from suitable anaerobic enrichments and examined with conventional 16S rRNA gene clone library, as well as high-density phylogenetic 16S rRNA gene microarray (PhyloChip) technologies. The culture-dependent analyses predominantly showed the presence of clostridial and propionibacterial strains. The 16S rRNA gene sequences retrieved from clone libraries revealed distinct microbial populations associated with each clean-room facility, clustered exclusively within gram-positive organisms. PhyloChip analysis detected a greater microbial diversity, spanning many phyla of bacteria, and provided a deeper insight into the microbial community structure of the clean-room facilities. This study presents an integrated approach for assessing the anaerobic microbial population within clean-room facilities, using both molecular and cultivation-based analyses. The results reveal that highly diverse anaerobic bacterial populations persist in the clean rooms even after the imposition of rigorous maintenance programs and will pose a challenge to planetary protection implementation activities.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document