Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is recognised as one of the greatest threats to human health as acknowledged in a series of international reports. Referred to as the silent pandemic, it is estimated that by 2050, unless action is taken, 10 million deaths per year will be attributable to AMR. This timeline aligns with multi-governmental plans for populous permanent outposts on orbital habitats and celestial bodies. Space is, therefore, rapidly becoming an emerging and unexplored component of One Health. With an increased human presence in space, the risk of introducing pathogenic and drug-resistant invasive microorganisms adapted to spacecraft environments that can disseminate on Earth is a possibility that requires caution and surveillance.
Research aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has revealed that certain microorganisms originating from the human microbiome like Acinetobacter pittii can thrive and rapidly change genomically and physiologically under spaceflight conditions. Hence, it is crucial to monitor space environments and infectious agents associated with space travel to ensure safety and sustainability. This project will focus on the first 20 multidrug-resistant (MDR) A. pitti strains isolated from surfaces across the ISS that have been found to adapt and form a genetically and functionally distinct clade compared to terrestial organisms. This project will uttilise a combination of microbiological typing along with long read sequencing and bioinformatic analysis.
The aims of the project are to:
1. Identify the genomic mechanisms responsible for the MDR phenotype.
2. Investigate spaceflight induced genomic changes that could lead to enhanced virulent properties.
3. Characterise mobile genetic elements and their role in dissemination of AMR.
The objectives of the project are: 1. To close and characterise the genomes and associated plasmids of the 20 MDR A. pitti strains.
2. Use comparative genomics and phylo-genomics to identify the changes responsible for antibiotic resistance and adaptation to the space environment.
