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Bacteria-Killing Viruses Appear to Get Stronger in Space
Vice.com and 2 more
- Space accelerates or redirects phage-bacteria evolution, with infections occurring but taking longer and following a distinct trajectory than on Earth.
- Microgravity acts as a biological pressure that reshapes how phages attach to hosts and how bacteria defend themselves, slowing infection and driving alternate evolutionary paths.
- Space-based mutation patterns emerged in phage genes not typically altered in Earth studies, indicating novel evolutionary routes under microgravity.
- Co-evolution under microgravity produced mutations in phages that boost infectivity and receptor binding compared with Earth conditions.
- Deep mutational scanning linked microgravity to changes in the phage receptor-binding protein, revealing meaningful differences from Earth conditions.
- Bacteria under microgravity accumulate defenses that enhance survival, illustrating robust coevolution with phages.
- Space-adaptive phages showed increased activity against antibiotic-resistant E. coli strains on Earth, including urinary-tract-pathogenic variants.
- ISS-derived phages offer potential to enhance phage therapies on Earth, especially against drug-resistant pathogens, by exploiting space-driven adaptations.
- Findings have implications for long-duration space missions and astronaut health, since microbes aboard spacecraft evolve rather than stay static in closed environments.
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