Microbial ecology of the closed artificial ecosystem MELiSSA (Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative): Reinventing and compartmentalizing the Earth's food and oxygen regeneration system for long-haul space exploration missions
Hendrickx, Larissa; De Wever, Heleen; Hermans, Veroniket al.
bioregenerative life support; MELiSSA; microbial ecology; Life Support System; space exploration
Abstract :
[en] MELiSSA is a bioregenerative life support system designed by the European Space Agency (ESA) for the complete recycling of gas, liquid and solid wastes during long distance space exploration. The system uses the combined activity of different living organisms: microbial cultures in bioreactors, a plant compartment and a human crew. In this minireview, the development of a short-cut ecological system for the biotransformation of organic waste is discussed from a microorganism's perspective. The artificial ecological model—still in full development—that is inspired by Earth's own geomicrobiological ecosystem serves as an ideal study object on microbial ecology and will become an indispensable travel companion in manned space exploration.
Research Center/Unit :
CIP - Centre d'Ingénierie des Protéines - ULiège
Disciplines :
Microbiology
Author, co-author :
Hendrickx, Larissa
De Wever, Heleen
Hermans, Veronik
Mastroleo, Felice
Morin, Nicolas ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Centre d'ingénierie des protéines
Wilmotte, Annick ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences de la vie > Physiologie et génétique bactériennes
Janssen, Paul
Mergeay, Max ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département Argenco : Secteur GeMMe > Génie minéral et recyclage
Language :
English
Title :
Microbial ecology of the closed artificial ecosystem MELiSSA (Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative): Reinventing and compartmentalizing the Earth's food and oxygen regeneration system for long-haul space exploration missions
Ahring, B.K., Ibrahim, A.A., Mladenovska, Z., Effect of temperature increase from 55 to 65°C on performance and microbial population dynamics of an anaerobic reactor treating cattle manure (2001) Water Res., 35, pp. 2446-2452
Albiol, J., Perez, J., Cabello, F., Mengual, X., Montras, A., Masot, S., Camargo, J., Gòdia, F., (2003) Leaving and Living with MELiSSA, MELiSSA Pilot Plant, MELiSSA Final Report 2002 Activity, pp. 206-225. , M. Lobo, C. Lasseur (Eds.), ESA/EWP-2216
Ballot, A., Pflugmacher, S., Wiegand, C., Kotut, K., Krienitz, L., Cyanobacterial toxins in Lake Baringo, Kenya (2003) Limnologica, 33, pp. 2-9
Barnes, D., Bliss, P.J., (1983) Book Biological Control of Nitrogen in Wastewater Treatment, , E. & F.N. Spon New York
Baurain, D., Renquin, L., Grubisic, S., Scheldeman, P., Belay, A., Wilmotte, A., Remarkable conservation of internally transcribed spacer sequences of Arhtrospira ("Spirulina") (Cyanophyceae, Cyanobacteria) strains from four continents and of recent and 30-year-old dried samples from Africa (2002) J. Phycol., 38, pp. 384-393
Bendixen, H.J., Safeguard against pathogens in Danish biogas plants (1994) Water Sci. Tech., 30, pp. 171-180
Boone, D.R., Chynoweth, D.P., Mah, R.A., Smith, P.H., Wilkie, A.C., Ecology and microbiology of biogasification (1993) Biomass Bioenergy, 5, pp. 191-202
Burtscher, C., Fall, P.A., Christ, O., Wilderer, P.A., Wuertz, S., Detection and survival of pathogens during two-stage thermophilic/ mesophilic treatment of suspended organic waste (1998) Water Sci. Technol., 38, pp. 123-126
Burtscher, C., Wuertz, S., Evaluation of the use of PCR and reverse transcriptase PCR for detection of pathogenic bacteria in biosolids from anaerobic digestors and aerobic composters (2003) Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 69, pp. 4618-4627
Cazemier, A.E., Verdoes, J.C., Reubsaet, F.A., Hackstein, J.H., Van Der Drift, C., Op Den Camp, H.J., Promicromonospora pachnodae sp. nov., a member of the (hemi)cellulolytic hindgut flora of larvae of the scarab beetle Pachnoda marginata (2003) Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek, 83, pp. 135-148
Chachkhiani, M., Dabert, P., Abzianidze, T., Partskhaladze, G., Tsiklauri, L., Dudauri, T., Godon, J.J., 16S rDNA characterization of bacterial and archaeal communities during start-up of anaerobic thermophilic digestion of cattle manure (2004) Bioresource Technol., 93, pp. 227-232
Chain, P., Lamerdin, J., Larimer, F., Complete genome sequence of the ammonia-oxidizing bacterium and obligate chemolithoautotroph Nitrosomonas europaea (2003) J. Bacteriol., 185, pp. 2759-2773
Chynoweth, D.P., Wilkie, A.C., Owens, J.M., Anaerobic processing of piggery wastes: A review (1998) Proceedings at the ASAE Annual International Meeting, , Paper 984101
Crump, W., Janik, D., (1992) Book Introduction to Life Support Systems, , Krieger Malabar, FL
Duarte, E.A., Mendes, N., Oliviera, J.S., Removal of Salmonella, Streptococci, and coliforms in pig breeding effluent by anaerobic mesophilic digestion (1992) Water Sci. Technol., 26, pp. 2169-2172
Duckworth, A.W., Grant, W.D., Jones, B.E., Van Steenbergen, R., Phylogenetic diversity of soda lake alkaliphiles (1996) FEMS Microbiol. Ecol., 19, pp. 181-191
Eckart, P., (1996) Spaceflight Life Support and Biospherics: Bioregenerative Life Support Concepts, pp. 249-364. , L. Markley W.L. Larson R.E. Münch J.F. Shea Microcosm, Inc. Torrance, CA
Eckart, P., (1996) Spaceflight Life Support and Biospherics: Physico-Chemical Versus Bioregenerative Life Support, pp. 125-174. , L. Markley W.L. Larson R.E. Münch J.F. Shea Microcosm, Inc. Torrance, CA
Elmashad, H.M., Zeeman, G., Lettinga, G., Thermophilic anaerobic digestion of cow manure (2001) Proceedings at the 9th World Congress on Anaerobic Digestion, pp. 505-508
Engeli, H., Edelmann, W., Fuchs, J., Rottermann, K., Survival of plant pathogens and weeds during anaerobic digestion (1993) Water Sci. Technol., 27, pp. 69-76
Fernández, A., Huang, S., Seston, S., Xing, J., Hickey, R., Criddle, C., Tiedje, J., How stable is stable? Function versus community composition (1999) Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 65, pp. 3697-3704
Garcia-Pichel, F., (2000) Encyclopedia of Microbiology: Cyanobacteria, pp. 907-929. , J. Lederberg Academic Press San Diego
Gòdia, F., Albiol, J., Montesinos, J.L., Pérez, J., Creus, N., Cabello, F., Mengual, X., Lasseur, C., MELiSSA: A loop of interconnected bioreactors to develop life support in space (2002) J. Biotechnol., 99, pp. 319-330
Grant, S., Grant, W.D., Jones, B.E., Kato, C., Li, L., Novel archaeal phylotypes from an East African alkaline saltern (1991) Extremophiles, 3, pp. 139-145
Grant, S., Sorokin, D.Y., Grant, W.D., Jones, B.E., Heaphy, S., A phylogenetic analysis of Wadi el Natrun soda lake cellulase enrichment cultures and identification of cellulase genes from these cultures (2004) Extremophiles, 8, pp. 421-429
Grant, W.D., Mwatha, W.E., Jones, B.E., Alkaliphiles: Ecology, diversity and applications (1990) FEMS Microbiol. Rev., 75, pp. 255-270
Guerrero, M.G., Lara, C., (1987) The Cyanobacteria, Assimilation of Inorganic Nitrogen, pp. 163-186. , P. Fay C. Van Baalen Elsevier Amsterdam
Gustafson, K.R., Cardellina, J.H., Fuller, R.W., Weislow, O.S., Kiser, R.F., Snader, K.M., Patterson, G.M., Boyd, M.R., AIDS-antiviral sulfolipids from cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) (1989) J. Natl. Cancer Inst., 81, pp. 1254-1258
Hansen, K.H., Angelidaki, I., Ahring, B.K., Improving thermophilic anaerobic digestion of swine manure (1999) Water Res., 33, pp. 1805-1810
Heberer, T., Reddersen, K., Mechlinski, A., From municipal sewage to drinking water: Fate and removal of pharmaceutical residues in the aquatic environment in urban areas (2002) Water Sci. Technol., 46, pp. 81-88
Henrikson, R., (1997) Book Earth Food Spirulina: How This Remarkable Blue-Green Algae Can Transform Your Health and Our Planet, , Ronore Enterprises, Inc San Rafael, CA
Hermans, V., Demey, D., (2001) MELiSSA Yearly Report for 2001 Activity: The Liquefying Compartment, pp. 11-17. , C. Lasseur C. Paillé A. Rodriguez ESA
Hindák, F., Morphology of tricomes in Spirulina fusiformis Voronichin from Lake Bogoria, Kenya (1985) Arch. Hydrobiol. Suppl. Algol. Stud., 38-39, pp. 201-218
Holbrook, R.D., Novak, J.T., Grizzard, T.J., Love, N.G., Estrogen receptor agonist fate during wastewater and biosolids treatment processes: A mass balance analysis (2002) Environ. Sci. Technol., 36, pp. 4533-4539
Imhoff, J.F., Trüpfer, H.G., (1989) Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology: The Purple Non-Sulfur Bacteria, pp. 1658-1666. , J.T. Staley M.P. Bryant N. Pfennig J.C. Holt Williams & Wilkins Baltimore
Ishikawa, H., Biochemical and molecular aspects of endosymbiosis in insects (1989) Int. Rev. Cytol., 16, pp. 1-45
Iversen, N., Joergensen, B.B., Anaerobic methane oxidation rates at the sulfate-methane transition in marine sediments from Kattegat and Skagerrak (Denmark) (1985) Limnol. Oceanogr., 30, pp. 944-955
Jones, B.E., Grant, W.D., Duckworth, A.W., Owenson, G.G., Microbial diversity of soda lakes (1998) Extremophiles, 2, pp. 191-200
Koops, H.-P., Pommerening-Röser, A., Distribution and ecophysiology of the nitrifying bacteria emphasizing cultured species (2001) FEMS Microbiol. Ecol., 37, pp. 1-9
Krienitz, L., Ballot, A., Kotut, K., Wiegand, C., Codd, G.A., Pflugmacher, S., Rift-Valley-Seen Kenias, Naturwunder in Gefahr (2003) Biol. Unserer Zeit, 33, pp. 123-129
Krienitz, L., Ballot, A., Kotut, K., Wiegand, C., Pütz, S., Metcalf, J.S., Codd, G.A., Pflugmacher, S., Contribution of hot spring cyanobacteria to the mysterious deaths of Lesser Flamingos at Lake Bogoria, Kenya (2003) FEMS Microbiol. Ecol., 43, pp. 141-148
Larimer, F.W., Chain, P., Hauser, L., Complete genome sequence of the metabolically versatile photosynthetic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris (2004) Nat. Biotechnol., 22, pp. 55-61
(2001) Preliminary Evaluation of Growth Kinetics with Ammonium As Nitrogen Source in the Photoautotrophic Compartment of MELiSSA, , C. Lattenmayer (Ed.), ESA/EWP-2127
Lemke, T., Stingl, U., Egert, M., Friedrich, M.W., Brune, A., Physicochemical conditions and microbial activities in the highly alkaline gut of the humus-feeding larva of Pachnoda ephippiata (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) (2003) Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 69, pp. 6650-6658
Lissens, G., Verstraete, W., Albrecht, T., Brunner, G., Creuly, C., Seon, J., Dussap, G., Lasseur, C., Advanced anaerobic bioconversion of lignocellulosic waste for bioregenerative life support following thermal water treatment and biodegradation by Fibrobacter succinogenes (2004) Biodegradation, 15, pp. 173-183
Loreau, M., Naeem, S., Inchausti, P., Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: Current knowledge and future challenges (2001) Science, 294, pp. 804-808
Madigan Martinko, J.M.M.T., Parker, J., (2000) Brock Biology of Microorganisms, , Prentice-Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ
Matsuki, T., Watanabe, K., Fujimoto, J., Takada, T., Tanaka, R., Use of 16S rRNA gene-targeted groupspecific primers for real-time PCR analysis of predominant bacteria in human feces (2004) Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 70, pp. 7220-7228
Melack, J.M., Kilham, P., Photosynthetic rates of phytoplankton in East African alkaline saline lakes (1974) Limnol. Oceanogr., 19, pp. 743-755
Mergeay, M., Verstraete, W., Dubertret, G., Lefort-Tran, M., Chipaux, C., Binot, R.A., 'MELiSSA' - A microorganisms-based model for 'CELSS' development (1988) Proceedings at the 3rd European Symposium on Space Thermal Control & Life Support Systems, pp. 65-68. , Noordwijk, The Netherlands
Minton, N.P., Clarke, D.J., (1989) Clostridia, , Plenum New York
http://advlifesupport.jsc.nasa.gov/
Ng, T.K., Weimer, P.J., Zeikus, J.G., Cellulolytic and physiological properties of Clostridium thermocellum (1977) Arch. Microbiol., 114, pp. 1-7
Ning, C., Gest, H., Regulation of L-isoleucine biosynthesis in the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodospirillum rubrum (1966) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 56, pp. 1823-1827
Pimm, S.L., The complexity and stability of ecosystems (1984) Nature, 307, pp. 321-326
Prosser, J.I., (1989) Advances in Microbial Physiology: Autotrophic Nitrification in Bacteria, pp. 125-181. , A.H. Rose D.W. Tempest Academic Press New York
Roberts, M.S., Garland, J.L., Mills, A.L., Microbial astronauts: Assembling microbial communities for advanced life support systems (2004) Microb. Ecol., 47, pp. 137-149
Sautier, C., Tremolieres, J., Valeurs alimentaires des algues spirulines chez l'homme (1976) Ann. Nutr. Alim., 30, pp. 517-533
Schmitt-Wagner, D., Brune, A., Hydrogen profiles and localization of methanogenic activities in the highly compartmentalized hindgut of soil-feeding higher termites (Cubitermes spp.) (1999) Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 65, pp. 4490-4496
Schober, G., Trösch, W., Degradation of digestion residues by lignolytic fungi (2000) Water Res., 34, pp. 3424-3430
Sedlak, R., (1991) Phosphorus and Nitrogen Removal from Municipal Wastewater: Principles and Practice, , Lewis Publishers New York
Segers, L., Verstraete, W., Conversion of organic acids to H2 by Rhodospirillaceae grown with glutamate or dinitrogen as nitrogen source (1983) Biotechnol. Bioeng., 25, pp. 2843-2853
Smith, M.R., Zinder, S.H., Mah, R.A., Microbial methanogenesis from acetate (1980) Process Biochem., 15, pp. 34-39
Tabak, H.H., Bunch, R.L., Steroid hormones as water pollutants. I. Metabolism of natural and synthetic ovulation-inhibiting hormones by microorganisms of activated sludge and primary settled sewage (1970) Dev. Ind. Microbiol., 11, pp. 367-376
Van Eykelenburg, C., On the morphology and ultrastructure of the cell wall of Spirulina platensis (1977) Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek, 43, pp. 89-99
Van Niel, C.B., The culture, general physiology, morphology, and classification of the non-sulfur purple and brown bacteria (1944) Bacteriol. Rev., 8, pp. 1-118
Verstraete, W., Vandevivere, P., New and broader applications of anaerobic digestion (1999) Crit. Rev. Environ. Sci. Technol., 28, pp. 151-173
Vrati, S., Single cell protein production by photosynthetic bacteria grown on the clarified effluents of a biogas plant (1984) Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol., 19, pp. 199-202
Wagner, M., Rath, G., Amann, R., Koops, H.-P., Schleiffer, K.-H., In situ identification of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (1995) Syst. Appl. Microbiol., 18, pp. 251-264
Watanabe, K., Kitamura, T., Ochi, S., Ozaki, M., Inactivation of pathogenic bacteria under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions (1997) Water Sci. Technol., 36, pp. 25-32
Zavarzin, G.A., Zhilina, T.N., Kevbrin, V.V., The alkaliphilic microbial community and its functional diversity (1999) Microbiology, 68, pp. 503-521
