Microbiological characterization of a regenerative life support system

A Variable Pressure Plant Growth Chamber (VPGC), at the Johnson Space Center's (JSC) ground-based Regenerative Life Support Systems (RLSS) test bed, was used to produce crops of soil-grown lettuce. The crops and chamber were analyzed for microbiological diversity during lettuce growth and after harvest. Bacterial counts for the rhizosphere, spent nutrient medium, heat exchanger condensate, and atmosphere were approximately 1011 Colony Forming Units (CFU) g−1, 105 CFU ml−1, 105 CFU ml−1, and 600 CFU m−3, respectively. Pseudomonas was the predominant bacterial genus. Numbers of fungi were about 105 CFU g−1 in the rhizosphere, 4–200 CFU ml−1 in the spent nutrient medium, 110 CFU ml−1 in the heat exchanger condensate, and 3 CFU m−3 in the atmosphere. Fusarium and Trichoderma were the predominant fungal genera.