Bacillus odysseyi is a Gram-positive, aerobic, rod-shaped, round-spore- and endospore-forming eubacterium of the genus Bacillus.[1] This novel species was discovered by scientist Myron T. La Duc of NASA’s Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, a unit whose purpose is to clean and sterilize spacecraft so as not to have microorganisms contaminate other celestial bodies or foreign microorganisms contaminate Earth, on the surface of the Mars Odyssey in a clean room at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge before the spacecraft was launched to space. La Duc named the bacterium Bacillus odysseyi sp. nov. after the Odyssey mission. It had apparently evolved to live in the sparse environment of a clean room, and its secondary spore coat makes it especially resistant to radiation.[2]
B. odysseyi consists of an exosporium, spore coat, cortex, and core. In a test performed by the Planetary Protection unit, its spores were the most consistently resistant, and it survived exposure to all of the challenges posed against it: desiccation (100% survival), Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2, 26% survival), ultraviolet radiation (10% survival at 660 J ∙ m−2), and gamma radiation (0.4% survival). B. odysseyi shares many DNA similarities with Bacillus fusiformis and Solibacillus silvestris. The type strain for B. odysseyi is 34hs-1T (=ATCC PTA-4993T=NRRL B-30641T=NBRC 100172T).[1]
Bacillus odysseyi is a Gram-positive, aerobic, rod-shaped, round-spore- and endospore-forming eubacterium of the genus Bacillus. This novel species was discovered by scientist Myron T. La Duc of NASA’s Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, a unit whose purpose is to clean and sterilize spacecraft so as not to have microorganisms contaminate other celestial bodies or foreign microorganisms contaminate Earth, on the surface of the Mars Odyssey in a clean room at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge before the spacecraft was launched to space. La Duc named the bacterium Bacillus odysseyi sp. nov. after the Odyssey mission. It had apparently evolved to live in the sparse environment of a clean room, and its secondary spore coat makes it especially resistant to radiation.
B. odysseyi consists of an exosporium, spore coat, cortex, and core. In a test performed by the Planetary Protection unit, its spores were the most consistently resistant, and it survived exposure to all of the challenges posed against it: desiccation (100% survival), Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2, 26% survival), ultraviolet radiation (10% survival at 660 J ∙ m−2), and gamma radiation (0.4% survival). B. odysseyi shares many DNA similarities with Bacillus fusiformis and Solibacillus silvestris. The type strain for B. odysseyi is 34hs-1T (=ATCC PTA-4993T=NRRL B-30641T=NBRC 100172T).
Bacillus odysseyi est une bactérie gram positive extrêmophile au mode de vie aérobie, en forme de bâtonnet et appartenant au genre des Bacilles[1]. Elle est capable de former des endospores de forme ronde[1].
Cette souche est découverte en 2004 par Myron La Duc, membre de la section de Biotechnologies et de Protection planétaire de la NASA, section ayant pour responsabilité de stériliser les vaisseaux spatiaux afin d'éviter la contamination de corps célestes par des micro-organismes. Elle est découverte sur Mars Odyssey, dans une salle blanche au Jet Propulsion Laboratory de La Cañada Flintridge avant le lancement de la navette. Elle est ainsi nommée par La Duc en raison de la mission spatiale Odyssey[2].
Extrêmophile, elle peut ainsi se développer dans l'environnement stérile d'une salle blanche et produit des spores résistants aux radiations[2], mais également à la dessication (100 % de survie) et au peroxyde d'hydrogène[1]. Ces spores ont une taille de 2µm environ, en forme de bâtonnets[1].
Bacillus odysseyi partage des similarités génomiques avec d'autres souches, comme Bacillus fusiformis et Bacillus silvestris[1].
Bacillus odysseyi est une bactérie gram positive extrêmophile au mode de vie aérobie, en forme de bâtonnet et appartenant au genre des Bacilles. Elle est capable de former des endospores de forme ronde.
