EcAMSat: A Small Satellite Flown to Explore the Role a Sigma Factor Plays in E. coli's Response to the Antibiotic Gentamicin

Padgen, Michael R ; Lera, Matthew P ; Parra, Macarena P ; Ricco, Antonio J ; Chin, Matthew ; Chinn, Tori N ; Cohen, Aaron ; Friedericks, Charlie R ; Henschke, Michael B ; Snyder, Timothy V(Millennium Engineering and Integration Co, Moffett Field, CA, United States)

关键词: TRANSCRIPTION (GENETICS);    ESCHERICHIA;    BACTERIA;    INFECTIOUS DISEASES;    ANTIBIOTICS;    ANTIINFECTIVES AND ANTIBACTERIALS;    MICROFLUIDIC DEVICES;    TELEMETRY;    OXIDATION-REDUCTION REACTIONS;    DEEP SPACE;    SMALL SCIENTIFIC SATELLITES;    CUBESATS;   

RP-ID  :  ARC-E-DAA-TN58312

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

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来源: NASA Technical Reports Server

【 摘 要 】

We have successfully flown the EcAMSat (Escherichia coli Antimicrobial Satellite) free-flyer mission. This was a 6U (six unit - CubeSat)small satellite that autonomously conducted an experiment in low Earth orbit to explore the impact of the space environment on antibiotic resistance in uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) and the role a particular sigma factor plays in the response. After being held in stasis during transport to orbit, two strains - a wildtype UPEC and an isogenic mutant with a deleted gene that encodes a sigma factor - were grown to stationary phase in a fluidic card inside EcAMSat's payload, then incubated with three concentrations of the antibiotic gentamicin. The payload then administered alamarBlue (registered trademark), a redox indicator, into all wells of the fluidic card. The cells were then incubated for 144 hours and metabolic activity was measured optically using the payloads' LED (Light-Emitting Diode)and detector system. Data were then telemetered to the ground and compared to a control experiment conducted in an identical satellite in a lab. The results of this experiment will help us better understand important therapeutic targets for treating bacterial infections on Earth and in space. Such targets are particularly relevant to deep-space and long-duration missions where crew may be more susceptible to infection and treatments for them may work differently.