Lee Hakyung, Diao Jinjin, Tian Yuxin, Guleria Richa, Lee Eunseo, Smith Alexandra, Savage Millie, Yeh Daniel, Roberson Luke, Blenner Mark, Tang Yinjie J, Moon Tae Seok
Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, MO, USA.
Synthetic Biology Group, J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Nat Commun. 2025 Jan 16;16(1):728. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-56088-2.
In-space biomanufacturing provides a sustainable solution to facilitate long-term, self-sufficient human habitation in extraterrestrial environments. However, its dependence on Earth-supplied feedstocks renders in-space biomanufacturing economically nonviable. Here, we develop a process termed alternative feedstock-driven in-situ biomanufacturing (AF-ISM) to alleviate dependence on Earth-based resupply of feedstocks. Specifically, we investigate three alternative feedstocks (AF)-Martian and Lunar regolith, post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate, and fecal waste-to develop an alternative medium for lycopene production using Rhodococcus jostii PET strain S6 (RPET S6). Our results show that RPET S6 could directly utilize regolith simulant particles as mineral replacements, while the addition of anaerobically pretreated fecal waste synergistically supported its cell growth. Additionally, lycopene production using AF under microgravity conditions achieved levels comparable to those on Earth. Furthermore, an economic analysis shows significant lycopene production cost reductions using AF-ISM versus conventional methods. Overall, this work highlights the viability of AF-ISM for in-space biomanufacturing.
太空生物制造提供了一种可持续的解决方案，以促进人类在地球外环境中的长期、自给自足的居住。然而，其对地球供应原料的依赖使得太空生物制造在经济上不可行。在此，我们开发了一种称为替代原料驱动原位生物制造（AF-ISM）的工艺，以减轻对地球原料再供应的依赖。具体而言，我们研究了三种替代原料（AF）——火星和月球风化层、消费后聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯以及粪便废物，以开发一种使用约氏红球菌PET菌株S6（RPET S6）生产番茄红素的替代培养基。我们的结果表明，RPET S6可以直接利用风化层模拟颗粒作为矿物质替代品，而添加厌氧预处理的粪便废物可协同支持其细胞生长。此外，在微重力条件下使用AF生产番茄红素的水平与在地球上相当。此外，经济分析表明，与传统方法相比，使用AF-ISM生产番茄红素的成本大幅降低。总体而言，这项工作突出了AF-ISM用于太空生物制造的可行性。
