Green, M.J.; Aylott, J.W.; Williams, P.; Ghaemmaghami, A.M.; Williams, P.M. Immunity in Space: Prokaryote Adaptations and Immune Response in Microgravity. Life2021, 11, 112.
Green, M.J.; Aylott, J.W.; Williams, P.; Ghaemmaghami, A.M.; Williams, P.M. Immunity in Space: Prokaryote Adaptations and Immune Response in Microgravity. Life 2021, 11, 112.
Journal reference: Life 2021, 11, 112 DOI: 10.3390/life11020112
Cite as:
Green, M.J.; Aylott, J.W.; Williams, P.; Ghaemmaghami, A.M.; Williams, P.M. Immunity in Space: Prokaryote Adaptations and Immune Response in Microgravity. Life2021, 11, 112.
Green, M.J.; Aylott, J.W.; Williams, P.; Ghaemmaghami, A.M.; Williams, P.M. Immunity in Space: Prokaryote Adaptations and Immune Response in Microgravity. Life 2021, 11, 112.
Abstract
Immune dysfunction has long been reported by medical professionals regarding astronauts suffering from opportunistic infections both during their time in space and a short time period afterwards once back on Earth. Various species of prokaryotes on board these space missions or cultured in a microgravity analogue exhibit increased virulence, enhanced formation of biofilms, and in some cases develop specific resistance for specific antibiotics. This poses a substantial health hazard to the astronauts confined in constant proximity to any present bacterial pathogens on long space missions with a finite number of resources including antibiotics. Furthermore, some bacteria cultured in microgravity develop phenotypes not seen in Earth gravity conditions, providing novel insights into bacterial evolution and research.
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Macauley J Green
Jonathan W Aylott