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Aeronautics and space microbiomes

International Space Station © Public domain

In this special series in Microbiome and Environmental Microbiome, we highlight articles that explore the microbiome of aeronautics and space. 

The study of off planet/extraterrestrial, space vehicle and spacecraft microbiomes provides insight on the impact of space travel on human health, characterization of how the environment impacts microbial communities in space vehicles/spacecraft and microbiota dynamics of space built environments. 

We cordially invite research and review papers in this new cross-journal series to the journals Microbiome and Environmental Microbiome.

This series will be edited by the main editors for each journal, and will be open for submissions until 31st December 2022. We look forward to receiving your submissions.

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Submit to Environmental Microbiome.

  1. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has a detrimental impact on human health on Earth and it is equally concerning in other environments such as space habitat due to microgravity, radiation and confinement, especia...

    Authors: Pedro Madrigal, Nitin K. Singh, Jason M. Wood, Elena Gaudioso, Félix Hernández-del-Olmo, Christopher E. Mason, Kasthuri Venkateswaran and Afshin Beheshti
    Citation: Microbiome 2022 10:134
  2. A human spaceflight to Mars is scheduled for the next decade. In preparation for this unmatched endeavor, a plethora of challenges must be faced prior to the actual journey to Mars. Mission success will depend...

    Authors: Torben Kuehnast, Carmel Abbott, Manuela R. Pausan, David A. Pearce, Christine Moissl-Eichinger and Alexander Mahnert
    Citation: Microbiome 2022 10:26
  3. Clean rooms of the Space Assembly Facility (SAF) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at NASA are the final step of spacecraft cleaning and assembly before launching into space. Clean rooms have stringent me...

    Authors: David C. Danko, Maria A. Sierra, James N. Benardini, Lisa Guan, Jason M. Wood, Nitin Singh, Arman Seuylemezian, Daniel J. Butler, Krista Ryon, Katerina Kuchin, Dmitry Meleshko, Chandrima Bhattacharya, Kasthuri J. Venkateswaran and Christopher E. Mason
    Citation: Microbiome 2021 9:82
  4. Extreme terrestrial, analogue environments are widely used models to study the limits of life and to infer habitability of extraterrestrial settings. In contrast to Earth’s ecosystems, potential extraterrestri...

    Authors: Alexandra Kristin Bashir, Lisa Wink, Stefanie Duller, Petra Schwendner, Charles Cockell, Petra Rettberg, Alexander Mahnert, Kristina Beblo-Vranesevic, Maria Bohmeier, Elke Rabbow, Frederic Gaboyer, Frances Westall, Nicolas Walter, Patricia Cabezas, Laura Garcia-Descalzo, Felipe Gomez…
    Citation: Microbiome 2021 9:50
  5. Human health is closely interconnected with its microbiome. Resilient microbiomes in, on, and around the human body will be key for safe and successful long-term space travel. However, longitudinal dynamics of...

    Authors: Alexander Mahnert, Cyprien Verseux, Petra Schwendner, Kaisa Koskinen, Christina Kumpitsch, Marcus Blohs, Lisa Wink, Daniela Brunner, Theodora Goessler, Daniela Billi and Christine Moissl-Eichinger
    Citation: Microbiome 2021 9:27
  6. The inaugural “Microbiome for Mars” virtual workshop took place on July 13, 2020. This event assembled leaders in microbiome research and development to discuss their work and how it may relate to long-duratio...

    Authors: Michael LaPelusa, Dorit Donoviel, Sergio E. Branzini, Paul E. Carlson Jr, Stephanie Culler, Amrita K. Cheema, Rima Kaddurah-Daouk, Denise Kelly, Isabelle de Cremoux, Rob Knight, Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown, Stephen L. Mayo, Sarkis K. Mazmanian, Emeran A. Mayer, Joseph F. Petrosino and Keith Garrison
    Citation: Microbiome 2021 9:2
  7. The extraordinarily resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans withstands harsh environmental conditions present in outer space. Deinococcus radiodurans was exposed for 1 year outside the International Space Sta...

    Authors: Emanuel Ott, Yuko Kawaguchi, Denise Kölbl, Elke Rabbow, Petra Rettberg, Maximilian Mora, Christine Moissl-Eichinger, Wolfram Weckwerth, Akihiko Yamagishi and Tetyana Milojevic
    Citation: Microbiome 2020 8:150
  8. Spaceflight impacts astronauts in many ways but little is known on how spaceflight affects the salivary microbiome and the consequences of these changes on astronaut health, such as viral reactivation. In orde...

    Authors: Camilla Urbaniak, Hernan Lorenzi, James Thissen, Crystal Jaing, Brian Crucian, Clarence Sams, Duane Pierson, Kasthuri Venkateswaran and Satish Mehta
    Citation: Microbiome 2020 8:56
  9. Space environment imposes a range of challenges to mammalian physiology and the gut microbiota, and interactions between the two are thought to be important in mammalian health in space. While previous finding...

    Authors: Peng Jiang, Stefan J. Green, George E. Chlipala, Fred W. Turek and Martha Hotz Vitaterna
    Citation: Microbiome 2019 7:113
  10. The International Space Station (ISS) is a closed system inhabited by microorganisms originating from life support systems, cargo, and crew that are exposed to unique selective pressures such as microgravity. ...

    Authors: Aleksandra Checinska Sielaff, Camilla Urbaniak, Ganesh Babu Malli Mohan, Victor G. Stepanov, Quyen Tran, Jason M. Wood, Jeremiah Minich, Daniel McDonald, Teresa Mayer, Rob Knight, Fathi Karouia, George E. Fox and Kasthuri Venkateswaran
    Citation: Microbiome 2019 7:50
  11. The International Space Station (ISS) is an ideal test bed for studying the effects of microbial persistence and succession on a closed system during long space flight. Culture-based analyses, targeted gene-ba...

    Authors: Nitin Kumar Singh, Jason M. Wood, Fathi Karouia and Kasthuri Venkateswaran
    Citation: Microbiome 2018 6:204

    The Correction to this article has been published in Microbiome 2018 6:214

  12. The ExoMars 2016 mission, consisting of the Trace Gas Orbiter and the Schiaparelli lander, was launched on March 14 2016 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan and reached its destination in October 2016. The Schiaparelli ...

    Authors: Kaisa Koskinen, Petra Rettberg, Rüdiger Pukall, Anna Auerbach, Lisa Wink, Simon Barczyk, Alexandra Perras, Alexander Mahnert, Diana Margheritis, Gerhard Kminek and Christine Moissl-Eichinger
    Citation: Microbiome 2017 5:143
  13. The Mars500 project was conceived as the first full duration simulation of a crewed return flight to Mars. For 520 days, six crew members lived confined in a specifically designed spacecraft mock-up. The herei...

    Authors: Petra Schwendner, Alexander Mahnert, Kaisa Koskinen, Christine Moissl-Eichinger, Simon Barczyk, Reinhard Wirth, Gabriele Berg and Petra Rettberg
    Citation: Microbiome 2017 5:129
  14. Space travel is associated with continuous low dose rate exposure to high linear energy transfer (LET) radiation. Pathophysiological manifestations after low dose radiation exposure are strongly influenced by non...

    Authors: David Casero, Kirandeep Gill, Vijayalakshmi Sridharan, Igor Koturbash, Gregory Nelson, Martin Hauer-Jensen, Marjan Boerma, Jonathan Braun and Amrita K. Cheema
    Citation: Microbiome 2017 5:105
  15. The built environment of the International Space Station (ISS) is a highly specialized space in terms of both physical characteristics and habitation requirements. It is unique with respect to conditions of mi...

    Authors: Nicholas A. Be, Aram Avila-Herrera, Jonathan E. Allen, Nitin Singh, Aleksandra Checinska Sielaff, Crystal Jaing and Kasthuri Venkateswaran
    Citation: Microbiome 2017 5:81

    The Erratum to this article has been published in Microbiome 2017 5:111

  16. The intestinal microbial communities and their temporal dynamics are gaining increasing interest due to the significant implications for human health. Recent studies have shown the dynamic behavior of the gut ...

    Authors: Silvia Turroni, Simone Rampelli, Elena Biagi, Clarissa Consolandi, Marco Severgnini, Clelia Peano, Sara Quercia, Matteo Soverini, Franck G. Carbonero, Giovanna Bianconi, Petra Rettberg, Francesco Canganella, Patrizia Brigidi and Marco Candela
    Citation: Microbiome 2017 5:39
  17. The International Space Station (ISS) represents a unique biotope for the human crew but also for introduced microorganisms. Microbes experience selective pressures such as microgravity, desiccation, poor nutr...

    Authors: Maximilian Mora, Alexandra Perras, Tatiana A. Alekhova, Lisa Wink, Robert Krause, Alina Aleksandrova, Tatiana Novozhilova and Christine Moissl-Eichinger
    Citation: Microbiome 2016 4:65
  18. For potential future human missions to the Moon or Mars and sustained presence in the International Space Station, a safe enclosed habitat environment for astronauts is required. Potential microbial contaminat...

    Authors: Teresa Mayer, Adriana Blachowicz, Alexander J. Probst, Parag Vaishampayan, Aleksandra Checinska, Tiffany Swarmer, Pablo de Leon and Kasthuri Venkateswaran
    Citation: Microbiome 2016 4:22
  19. The International Space Station (ISS) is a unique built environment due to the effects of microgravity, space radiation, elevated carbon dioxide levels, and especially continuous human habitation. Understandin...

    Authors: Aleksandra Checinska, Alexander J. Probst, Parag Vaishampayan, James R. White, Deepika Kumar, Victor G. Stepanov, George E. Fox, Henrik R. Nilsson, Duane L. Pierson, Jay Perry and Kasthuri Venkateswaran
    Citation: Microbiome 2015 3:50