Biofilms are communities of microorganisms that stick to one another and also adhere to a nearby surface. According to sources, biofilms are intricately associated with life on Earth, enabling functions essential to human and plant systems. NASA's Open Science Data Repository (OSDR) Analysis Working Groups study biofilms and many other biological phenomena in an environment that’s important to NASA: the environment of deep space.
It is not well understood how well biofilms react to the many stresses of spaceflight. A new study, performed in part by NASA volunteers, describes how biofilms adapt to space environments, exploring how biofilms may benefit human and plant health in space. The volunteers are led by Dr.
Katherine Baxter (University of Glasgow) and Dr. Nicholas Brereton (University College Dublin). The volunteers are part of the Microbes Analysis Working Group.
The findings reframe biofilms from infection risks to essential structures supporting human gut health, immunity, and plant nutrient uptake. The group’s work synthesizes how spaceflight stressors alter biofilm architecture and host interaction. However, the detailed mechanisms by which biofilms benefit human gut health and immunity in space remain unclear.
The practical applications of this research for future human space exploration missions are also not yet defined.