Uncovering endophytic and commensal microbial communities hidden within archival plant RNA-seq data from the International Space Station. Meta-analysis of NASA OSDR accessions spanning BRIC-19, BRIC-20, APEX-03-2, and BRIC-PDF.
Curated spaceflight missions analyzed for seedling-associated non-host microbial transcripts.
Multi-ecotype comparison (Col-0, Cvi-0, Ler-0, WS-2) dark-germinated in BRIC hardware. Exhibited overwhelming dominance of Ralstonia pickettii across all genotypes.
Early developmental kinetics in Col-0 seedlings. Identified novel presence of Weizmannia ginsengihumi, a potent antioxidant-producing plant growth promoter.
Targeted root tip apical meristem sequencing in Col-0, WS, and phyD mutants. Demonstrated near-zero microbial taxa detection, proving root apical zones maintain endophyte exclusion.
Organ-resolved metatranscriptomics in WS ecotype. Distinctly separated leaf mesophyll endophytes (Delftia, Bradyrhizobium) from root vascular communities.
Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) and ER stress adaptation in sealed BRIC-PDFU canisters. Profiles microbial persistence and community shifts during dark canister orbital confinement across Col-0 and UPR mutants.
Light-grown Col-0 spaceflight seedlings. Validates detection of Cutibacterium acnes, Rhodococcus fascians, and Herbaspirillum huttiense.
Comprehensive catalog of detected microorganisms classified by putative origin (seed-borne endophytes vs human/hardware commensals) and physiological characteristics.
| Organism | Phylum / Class | Putative Origin | Morphology | Functional Attributes | Biofilm | Plant Pathogen |
|---|
Intersectional set distributions, pairwise community correlations, and study selection parameters.
Parameter matching across NASA GeneLab accessions identifying overlapping conditions, hardware, and ecotypes (Barker et al., 2023).
Intervene UpSet plot revealing core shared Proteobacteria alongside sample-specific and ecotype-restricted colonizers.
Spearman correlation and hierarchical clustering across samples showing strong clustering by hardware and seedling age.
Four-way set overlap highlighting core persisting taxa versus transient mission contaminants.
Explore the hierarchical taxonomic breakdown (Domain → Phylum → Class → Order → Family → Genus → Species) generated from the spaceflight seedling unmapped read assemblies.
Systematic extraction of microbial dark matter from eukaryotic host RNA sequencing data.
Complete research article titled "Mining the Extraterrestrial Seedling Microbiome: Meta-transcriptomic Discovery of Endophytic and Commensal Communities in Spaceflight Arabidopsis thaliana", compiled with bibliography, publication-ready tables, and vector figures.