Microbial Observatory (ISS-MO): Study of BSL-2 bacterial isolates from the International Space Station

In an on-going Microbial Observatory experimental investigation on the International Space Station (ISS), multiple bacterial isolates of Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2) were isolated and identified. The antibiotic susceptibility pattern was tested in these BSL-2 isolates for the following antibiotics: cefazolin, ciprofloxacin, cefoxitin, erythromycin, gentamycin, oxacillin, penicillin, rifampin, tobramycin and many of the BSL-2 isolates showed multiple drug resistance. Among these isolates, 21 strains were chosen for whole genome sequencing (WGS) for a possible lead to develop appropriate countermeasures. In addition, the genomic data would enable to determine the influence of microgravity on the pathogenicity and virulence in the BSL-2 microorganisms.

在国际空间站（International Space Station, ISS）正在进行的微生物观测站实验研究中，分离并鉴定出多株生物安全等级2（Biosafety Level 2, BSL-2）的细菌分离株。对这些BSL-2分离株开展了以下抗生素的药敏模式测试：头孢唑林（cefazolin）、环丙沙星（ciprofloxacin）、头孢西丁（cefoxitin）、红霉素（erythromycin）、庆大霉素（gentamycin）、苯唑西林（oxacillin）、青霉素（penicillin）、利福平（rifampin）、妥布霉素（tobramycin）；结果显示，多数BSL-2分离株表现出多重耐药性。在这些分离株中，选取21株进行全基因组测序（whole genome sequencing, WGS），以期为制定合适的应对措施提供潜在线索。此外，基因组数据将有助于明确微重力对BSL-2微生物致病性与毒力的影响。