Whole-genome Sequencing Of Paenibacillus Phoenicis Isolated from the Phoenix Mars Lander Spacecraft Assembly Facility

The genome of Paenibacillus phoenicis, a spore-forming bacterium isolated from the spacecraft assembly facility of the Phoenix mission, was generated via hybrid assembly by merging short and long reads. Examining this genome may shed light on strategies to minimize the risk of contaminating extraterrestrial environments with Earth-based microorganisms.

The Phoenix lander, housed in a 100,000-class clean room at Lockheed Martin Space Systems’ facilities near Denver, Colo. Shown here, the lander is contained inside the backshell portion of the aeroshell (with the heat shield removed). Credit: NASA/JPL/LMSS

Paenibacillus phoenicis 3PO2SAT (DSM = 27463T), an endospore-forming aerobic bacterium, was isolated from the NASA Phoenix Lander spacecraft assembly facility. Its novel taxonomic position has been previously reported (1).

The survival capabilities of P. phoenicis in nutrient-poor conditions, such as those characterized in spacecraft cleanrooms and the deep subsurface of a molybdenum mine at ~2,141 m depth, are of interest to NASA’s Planetary Protection program due to potential risk that the bacterium could be unintentionally carried on spacecraft, leading to biological contamination of planets that these spacecraft visit.

Its recent isolation from blood and cerebrospinal fluid (2, 3) is unusual given previous isolation locations. Due to its potential association with humans, it is possible that this bacterial species could be medically relevant and impact the health of future astronauts.

Whole-genome tree of Paenibacillus phoenicis with all members of the genus. — ASM Microbiology

Whole-genome sequencing of Paenibacillus phoenicis isolated from the Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft assembly facility, ASM Microbiology

Astrobiology