A Microbial Analysis of Space-Grown Produce

Before space crops become a permanent staple of the astronaut diet, we must first understand how plants and pathogenic microbes interact in microgravity. Crops such as red romaine lettuce and Chinese cabbage were grown on the International Space Station and sent back to Kennedy Space Center for microbial analysis. Aerobic plate counts and metagenomic sequencing were used to characterize bacterial and fungal communities for plants and their respective ''pillows''. These data will be used to create new guidelines for the microbial safety of space-grown produce, and will help us better protect astronauts from food-borne pathogens like E.coli, Staphylococcus, and Salmonella.