Influence of Microgravity on the Physiology, Pathogenicity and Antibiotic Efficacy of Microorganisms

Abstract

Exploration beyond low earth orbit is a major challenge during space missions. The journey brings deleterious changes to the composition of bacterial flora of the spacecraft and compromises the immune system of the crew members significantly. Space exploration reduces immunological competence in crew members and is expected to create harmful alterations in the bacterial flora of the nasal, gastrointestinal, and respiratory tracts, increasing the susceptibility to disease. The pathogenicity character traits of bacteria and other microorganisms that pollute the material of the International Space Station as well as other flight platforms may be modified by the space flight environment, which may affect their vulnerability to antibiotics, which are important ingredients of flights medical setups. In conclusion susceptibility of microbes to antibiotics was affected and measures need to be studied in order to establish precautionary methods for future space missions. In this review we discussed the effect of spaceflights on microbial physiology; various challenges faced by the crew members and spacecraft equipment, and also highlighted methods to overcome these challenges during space flights for ensuring safety of the crew.