Near-weightless conditions can mutate genes and change the physical structure of bacteria and phages, altering regular interactions, according to US scientists.
The pair exist in an evolutionary ‘arms race’, where bacteria evolve defenses against phages which in turn evolve ways to defeat them. Researchers tested bacteria and phage interactions at four different time points, with one experiment in near-weightless conditions aboard the International Space Station compared with an experiment on Earth.
They say phages were slower to infect bacteria in space, but had succeeded by the longest time point. Space-driven DNA mutations appeared to boost bacterial defenses, but also helped phages bind to and infect the bacteria. Notably, they found phages that had accumulated genetic differences in space were more effective than Earth-bound phages at attaking a usually resistant bacterial strain from Earth.
The team says this finding has potential implications in the fight against antibiotic resistance back here on terra firma. Overall, this study highlights the potential for phage research aboard the ISS in it’s final few years to reveal new insights into microbial adaption, with potential relevance to both space exploration and human health.
