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High-density 16S microarray and clone library-based microbial community composition of the Phoenix spacecraft
Parag Vaishampayan1, Shariff Osman, Gary Andersen
1Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109, USA. vaishamp@jpl.nasa.gov
Astrobiology
|July 14, 2010
Summary
NASA
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Spacecraft Assembly Environments
Background:
- Spacecraft assembly requires stringent environmental controls to prevent microbial contamination.
- Understanding bacterial community dynamics is crucial for ensuring mission success and planetary protection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize bacterial diversity and community structure in a clean room during spacecraft assembly.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of NASA's cleaning and decontamination protocols.
Main Methods:
- Utilized 16S rRNA gene cloning/sequencing and DNA microarray (PhyloChip) technologies.
- Collected samples from multiple clean room locations at three distinct time points: before assembly (PHX-B), during assembly (PHX-D), and after launch preparation (PHX-A).
Main Results:
- Bacterial diversity in PHX-B differed significantly from PHX-D and PHX-A samples.
- Stringent cleaning protocols drastically reduced bacterial diversity during assembly (PHX-D).
- PhyloChip detected greater diversity than clone libraries, confirming trends and revealing persistent bacterial signatures.
Conclusions:
- NASA's cleaning protocols effectively reduce microbial load during spacecraft assembly.
- Persistent bacterial presence highlights the need for improved sterilization and continuous microbial monitoring.
