Abstract

The paper presents the results of studying quantitative dynamics, changes in composition and species diversity (Shannon diversity index, SDI) of the cultivable microbial community on samples of structural materials in the course of long-term exposure inside the International space station (space experiment Biorisk). It was found that the total number and species diversity of microorganisms changed in waves but the general trend was downward. In all, over the period of the experiment we detected, after cultivation in nutrient media, 20 bacterial species and 5 species of microscopic fungi grown on the samples of structural materials. Among bacteria, dominating species belonged to genus Bacillus, and species of the normal cutaneous and mucous microbiota belonged to genus Staphylococcus and Micrococcus. Genus Aspergillus and Penicillium dominated among fungi. Species diversity of the cultivable microbial community was maximal for textured glass and minimal for polyvinylchloride. SDI was 2.99 and 1.72 respectively. Also, these materials were populated by the largest (11) and least (5) numbers of cultivable microorganisms. The low microbial load on all types of materials after different periods of exposure suggests eco-safety of the ISS environment and effectiveness of the respective control measures.

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