Unknown bacterial strain discovered on Chinese space station Tiangong

Is it extraterrestrial life? A previously unknown strain of bacteria that is not found on Earth has been discovered on board the Chinese space station Tiangong ("Heavenly Palace"). This was announced by researchers from the Shenzhou Space Biotechnology Group and the Beijing Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering.

The microbes were found in samples taken on board the station in 2013. Junxia Yuan's team named the bacterium "Niallia tiangongensis" after the place where it was found. It is a rod-shaped bacterium whose closest relative is the terrestrial bacterium Niallia circulans, the team writes in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.

It is unclear whether Niallia tiangongensis originated on the space station or whether it arrived there in the form of spores. It is true that people and objects brought to a space station are checked beforehand. Nevertheless, it is difficult to prevent microbes from traveling into space unintentionally.

Niallia tiangongensis utilizes gelatine

The microbe has an ability that its terrestrial relatives do not have: It can utilize gelatin as a source of nitrogen and carbon. However, it cannot utilize other substances that serve as a source of energy for its terrestrial relatives.

It is still unclear whether Niallia tiangongensis poses a threat to the health of taikonauts. Its ability to digest gelatine could pose a danger. The terrestrial bacterium Niallia circulans can cause sepsis, at least in people whose immune system is compromised.

The Chinese space agency is not the only one grappling with the problem of extremely robust microbes: NASA recently published the results of an investigation: according to this, 26 previously unknown microbes were found in the clean rooms where the US space agency is preparing the Mars Phoenix mission. What they have in common is the ability to survive in sterile environments.

(wpl)