Space Life Science Lab, University of Florida, 505 Odyssey Way, Merritt Island, FL 32953, USA.
Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899, USA.
Life (Basel). 2014 May 26;4(2):250-66. doi: 10.3390/life4020250.
Spaceflight imposes several unique stresses on biological life that together can have a profound impact on the homeostasis between eukaryotes and their associated microbes. One such stressor, microgravity, has been shown to alter host-microbe interactions at the genetic and physiological levels. Recent sequencing of the microbiomes associated with plants and animals have shown that these interactions are essential for maintaining host health through the regulation of several metabolic and immune responses. Disruptions to various environmental parameters or community characteristics may impact the resiliency of the microbiome, thus potentially driving host-microbe associations towards disease. In this review, we discuss our current understanding of host-microbe interactions in microgravity and assess the impact of this unique environmental stress on the normal physiological and genetic responses of both pathogenic and mutualistic associations. As humans move beyond our biosphere and undergo longer duration space flights, it will be essential to more fully understand microbial fitness in microgravity conditions in order to maintain a healthy homeostasis between humans, plants and their respective microbiomes.
太空飞行对生物生命施加了几种独特的压力，这些压力加在一起可能会对真核生物与其相关微生物之间的内稳态产生深远影响。其中一种压力源，微重力，已被证明会在遗传和生理水平上改变宿主-微生物的相互作用。最近对与植物和动物相关的微生物组进行的测序表明，这些相互作用对于通过调节几种代谢和免疫反应来维持宿主健康至关重要。各种环境参数或群落特征的破坏可能会影响微生物组的弹性，从而可能导致宿主-微生物的关联朝着疾病方向发展。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了我们对微重力下宿主-微生物相互作用的现有理解，并评估了这种独特的环境压力对致病和互利共生关联的正常生理和遗传反应的影响。随着人类超越我们的生物圈并进行更长时间的太空飞行，为了维持人类、植物及其各自微生物组之间的健康内稳态，有必要更充分地了解微重力条件下微生物的适应性。
