Construction of Key Microbial Resource Center for Planetary Protection

Abstract

To meet the demand of planetary protection during subsequent high-level deep space exploration missions, the first microbial resource center for planetary protection was constructed. The microbial strains isolated from the surface of the deep space probe in the AIT stage were selected as the main objects. Based on three aspects of distribution representativeness, genetic information specificity and biosafety, 359 microbial strains belonging to 80+ species were selected and preserved, among which spore-forming bacteria accounted for 69.9%. In addition, the standardized microbial strain information management and query system was established for the information management of microbial strain resources for planetary protection. The microbial resource center for planetary protection is very important for ensuring the development of planetary protection missions from the collection of microbial resources to technology development, function verification and engineering application in our country.

Keywords

planetary protection / deep space probe / bioburden / spore-forming bacteria