When bacteria starts to mutate in space, you can bet it's a serious concern—especially for astronauts living with it.
Over the past 75 years, humanity has launched thousands of objects into space, whether it’s rockets, satellites, fruit flies, or who knows what else.
With all these things blasting beyond our atmosphere, we don’t always think about the bacteria that goes along with them.
Yet, there must be tons of bacteria we’ve sent into space—just last year alone, 2,644 objects were launched.
While most bacteria is pretty harmless, there are some that can be dangerous. One type that can cause illness is Enterobacter bugandensis, which was discovered on the International Space Station (ISS) back in 2018.
At that time, only five strains of this bacteria had been reported. According to previous studies, it’s been linked with 'severe clinical infection.' But after further investigation, an additional eight strains of this multi-drug-resistant bacteria were found.
Considering that astronauts on the ISS depend on the microorganisms and bacteria around them for their health and well-being, finding a harmful bacteria that starts mutating is definitely something to worry about.
Even though the ISS is considered a 'highly controlled environment'—with microgravity, elevated CO2 levels, and more solar radiation—these microorganisms still managed to thrive.
In fact, it’s believed that some microbes exposed to microgravity can 'develop antibiotic resistance and increased virulence through rapid mutations and horizontal gene transfer.'
Enterobacter bugandensis appears to have found its own 'niche' in the ISS, becoming genetically distinct from its counterparts on Earth.
According to a study released in March, this bacteria is classified as an opportunistic pathogen, meaning it only causes disease when someone already has a weakened immune system or is fighting another illness. This is something that astronauts in space for long periods of time might face.
For the sake of keeping astronauts healthy, it’s crucial for scientists to understand how bacteria may evolve in space—a key goal of this study.
Regarding how the pathogen can impact people, the study explains: "Enterobacter species act as opportunistic human pathogens, causing nosocomial infections with bacteremia, lower respiratory tract, osteomyelitis, sepsis, and urinary tract infection."
As for what might 'drive' these changes in bacteria, the study adds: "A hypothesis central to our study was that the singular nature of the stresses of the space environment, distinct from any on Earth, could be driving these genomic adaptations."
It’s hoped that these findings will 'shed light on the microbial ecosystem dynamics aboard the ISS,' helping reduce the risks astronauts could face from potential pathogenic threats.