WRITING AND COMMUNICATION

 BIO 227 A

MICROBIOTA IN SPACE
 Space trips aren't always enjoyable, so keep that in mind before leaving for a journey to
Mars. Aside from gastrointestinal slowdown, disrupted sleep, changed day-night cycles, and
isolation's negative effects on mental health, microgravity can cause atrophy in inactive muscles
and early osteoporosis in bones. The gut microbiota goes out of balance, and the skin, tongue,
and nose bacteria grow to resemble those of other crew members as if that weren't bad enough. Is
anything here related? Could additional imbalances be caused by the altered microbiota?
recently, a review focusing on astronauts’ health suggests so.

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs1), which have a role in hunger and satiety, are known to
be produced by the microbiota. The gut flora may as a result restrict an astronaut's appetite by
producing appetite-suppressant substances as a result of the upended nature of living in space
and the diet's lack of fibre. A change in the gut flora may also affect how well vitamins and
minerals are absorbed as well as how the musculoskeletal system functions. As humans age, their
neurocognitive and psychomotor abilities degrade as well. The gut microbiota, which affects
mood, stress, cognition, and behaviour among other things, may have an impact on these
functions as well. It's possible that alterations in the microbiota contribute to even the immune
system's decrease

As a result, astronauts' microbiota, particularly that in their stomach, is drastically altered

by space travel. Their nerves may also be affected, in addition to their immune system,
metabolism, and bone and muscular health. Should we use prebiotics to support their
microbiota's growth or probiotics to introduce healthy bacteria? Future clinical trials could offer
an answer, thus the query is worthwhile.i.e Short Chain Fatty Acids

A variety of stresses that crew members are exposed to have the potential to alter the
microbiome's composition and have a negative impact on the health of the astronauts. The
microbiomes of nine astronauts who spent six to twelve months aboard the ISS were studied in
this study in connection to prolonged space flight. The microbata populations of the skin, nose,
tongue, and digestive system all change during a space flight,according to the findings we
provide. As astronauts spent more time in space, their intestinal microbiota composition began to
resemble one another more, mostly, some of which were associated with changes in crew
members' cytokine profiles.

As astronauts spent more time in space, their intestinal microbiota composition began to
resemble one another more, mostly as a result of a decline in the prevalence of a few bacterial
taxa, some of which were also connected to alterations in the cytokine profiles of the crew
members. Astronauts' skin microbiomes have evolved as a result of their time in space, which
has to an increase in the incidence of skin rashes and hypersensitivity episodes. According to the
study's findings, astronauts' microbiomes change as they fly through space. Prior to humans
starting long-duration space missions, further research is needed to determine how such changes
may affect crew health.

Depending on the person, the forearm and forehead skin microbiota's variety and richness
changed in response to the ISS environment, yet astronauts consistently experienced this change.
The causes of this variance in how humans respond to space flight are unknown. The skin's
microbial communities' composition, skin-specific traits like moisture and pH, and/or astronauts'
personal hygiene routines are likely to have had a role in the skin microbiota's variable response
to spaceflight. Each astronaut contributed saliva for the analysis of cortisol levels and virus
reactivation as well as blood samples for the evaluation of plasma cytokine concentrations. The
purpose of this study was to investigate potential relationships between astronauts' microbiota,
immune systems, and stress levels. According to this study, space flight has no effect on the
alpha diversity or richness of the tongue microbiota. Only when qualitative variations in the
microbial composition between the before- and after-flight samples were taken into account did
alterations in the nares microbiota caused by spaceflight become noteworthy. At least 60 days
after returning to Earth, these changes persisted as major ones. The tongue's microbiome was
altered while in the air due to differences in bacterial species' relative abundance, but these
quantitative changes vanished as soon as the crew safely touched down. The astronauts'
microbiota and cargo shipments with extremely low microbial loads are the two primary sources
of microbial communities found in the very isolated environment of the International Space
Station (ISS). We evaluated the microbiota's alpha and beta diversity measures on six distinct
ISS surfaces to learn more about the make-up of the microbial communities that live there and
how they interact with the astronauts' microbiomes.

According to each individual astronaut, Although there was consistency between astronauts
across the two skin types, there was a rise or reduction in the alpha diversity and richness of the
microbiota on the forehead and forearms in response to the ISS environment. What factors led to
various responses from humanity to space flight is unknown. The composition of the skin's
microbial populations, skin-specific parameters like wetness and pH, and/or astronauts' personal
hygiene practises may all play a role in how the microbiome responds to spaceflight differently
in different people.

We found that, All members of the crew exhibited changes in the microbial composition during
spaceflight, notwithstanding the bimodal variation in astronaut skin microbiomes. These
alterations caused a large in-flight drop in protozoa, specifically Gamma and Betaproteobacteria,
while simultaneously increasing Firmicutes. species of both streptococcal and staphylococcal
bacteria. These compositional alterations may have a deleterious influence on astronauts' health,
however it is hard to say for sure. There is less Proteobacteria diversity on the skin of atopy
patients, according to earlier research.

References:
1. Magnani M, Pukar KC, Turroni S, et al. State of the Art and Potential Pro/Prebiotic
Strategies for Long-Term Space Missions: Gut Microbiome and Space Travelers' Health.
2020 September 8;11:553929. 

2. Studying how astronauts' microbiomes are affected by extended space travel aboard the
International Space Station Scientific Reports volume 9, article number: 9911 by
Alexander A. Voorhies, C. Mark Ott, Satish Mehta, Duane L. Pierson, and Brian