NASA discovers bacterial strains that may help growing plants on Mars

According to a new study published in the Frontiers in Microbiology, it has been revealed that NASA has discovered three bacterial strains at the International Space Station (ISS) that may help in growing plants on Mars. The study talks about the discovery of bacteria belonging to the family Methylobacteriaceae, which is from different locations. The genus contains more species than any other genera within the family Methylobacteriaceae, order Rhizobiales, and class Alphaproteobacteria. Also, the genus was first amended to include facultative methylotrophs, which have the ability to grow on methane or methanol as the source of carbon and energy. 

The Methylobacterium species are involved in nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, abiotic stress tolerance, plant growth promotion and biocontrol activity. Dr Kasthuri Venkateswaran (Venkat) and Dr Nitin Kumar Singh of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, (JPL) said that the strain might possess "biotechnologically useful genetic determinants" which are important for the growing of crops in space. However, there is a need for further experimental biology to prove that it is a game-changer for space farming. 

Based on the ANI and dDDH analyses, these three ISS strains were considered as novel species belonging to the genus Methylobacterium. The three ISS strains showed 100% ANI similarity and dDDH values with each other, indicating that these three ISS strains, isolated during various flights and from different locations, belong to the same species. These three ISS strains were found to grow optimally at temperatures from 25 to 30°C, pH 6.0 to 8.0, and NaCl 0 to 1%, read the abstract of the study.

Thousands of samples collected 

As a part of the study, various samples were collected from the ISS during Microbial Tracking from 2015-2016. The polyester wipes which were used to collect samples and particulates associated with the sampling devices  were transported to Earth before being dissociated into sterile phosphate-buffered saline solution. The microbial substances that were grown at 25°C for 7 days were picked from the R2A plates. They were then purified and stored for further analysis. 

Currently, 8 locations on the ISS are being monitored for bacterial growths. These samples include where the crew assembles or where experiments are conducted. Approximately, thousands of samples have been collected from various other locations on the space station, however, they will be taken back to earth where they can be examined. As per Venkat and Singh, the eventual goal is to bypass this lengthy process and find new novel strains using molecular biology equipment which are  developed and demonstrated for the ISS.