Genomics and Microbiome Core Facility, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Ecology Department, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA.
Astrobiology. 2023 Aug;23(8):897-907. doi: 10.1089/ast.2022.0044. Epub 2023 Apr 26.
Molecular biology methods and technologies have advanced substantially over the past decade. These new molecular methods should be incorporated among the standard tools of planetary protection (PP) and could be validated for incorporation by 2026. To address the feasibility of applying modern molecular techniques to such an application, NASA conducted a technology workshop with private industry partners, academics, and government agency stakeholders, along with NASA staff and contractors. The technical discussions and presentations of the Multi-Mission Metagenomics Technology Development Workshop focused on modernizing and supplementing the current PP assays. The goals of the workshop were to assess the state of metagenomics and other advanced molecular techniques in the context of providing a validated framework to supplement the bacterial endospore-based NASA Standard Assay and to identify knowledge and technology gaps. In particular, workshop participants were tasked with discussing metagenomics as a stand-alone technology to provide rapid and comprehensive analysis of total nucleic acids and viable microorganisms on spacecraft surfaces, thereby allowing for the development of tailored and cost-effective microbial reduction plans for each hardware item on a spacecraft. Workshop participants recommended metagenomics approaches as the only data source that can adequately feed into quantitative microbial risk assessment models for evaluating the risk of forward (exploring extraterrestrial planet) and back (Earth harmful biological) contamination. Participants were unanimous that a metagenomics workflow, in tandem with rapid targeted quantitative (digital) PCR, represents a revolutionary advance over existing methods for the assessment of microbial bioburden on spacecraft surfaces. The workshop highlighted low biomass sampling, reagent contamination, and inconsistent bioinformatics data analysis as key areas for technology development. Finally, it was concluded that implementing metagenomics as an additional workflow for addressing concerns of NASA's robotic mission will represent a dramatic improvement in technology advancement for PP and will benefit future missions where mission success is affected by backward and forward contamination.
过去十年中,分子生物学方法和技术取得了实质性进展。这些新的分子方法应成为行星保护 (PP) 的标准工具之一,并应在 2026 年前进行验证以纳入其中。为了研究将现代分子技术应用于此类应用的可行性,美国宇航局与私营行业合作伙伴、学术界和政府机构利益相关者以及美国宇航局工作人员和承包商一起举办了技术研讨会。多任务宏基因组技术开发研讨会的技术讨论和演讲集中在使当前的 PP 检测方法现代化和补充这些方法上。研讨会的目标是评估宏基因组学和其他先进分子技术在提供经过验证的框架以补充基于细菌内生孢子的美国宇航局标准检测方法方面的状态,并确定知识和技术差距。特别是,研讨会参与者的任务是讨论宏基因组学作为一种独立的技术,以对航天器表面的总核酸和有活力的微生物进行快速和全面的分析,从而为航天器上的每个硬件项目制定量身定制且具有成本效益的微生物减少计划。研讨会参与者建议采用宏基因组学方法作为唯一的数据来源,为评估正向(探索外星行星)和反向(对地球有害的生物)污染风险的定量微生物风险评估模型提供充分的数据。与会者一致认为,宏基因组学工作流程与快速靶向定量(数字)PCR 相结合,代表了评估航天器表面微生物生物负荷的现有方法的革命性进步。研讨会强调了低生物量采样、试剂污染和不一致的生物信息学数据分析是技术开发的关键领域。最后得出结论,将宏基因组学作为解决美国宇航局机器人任务关注问题的附加工作流程实施,将代表 PP 技术进步的重大飞跃,并将使未来的任务受益,这些任务的成功受到正向和反向污染的影响。
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