<i>Neobacillus driksii</i> sp. nov. isolated from a Mars 2020 spacecraft assembly facility and genomic potential for lasso peptide production in <i>Neobacillus</i>
The microbial surveillance of the Mars 2020 assembly cleanroom led to the isolation of novel <i>N. driksii</i> with potential applications in cleanroom environments, such as hospitals, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and aeronautical industries. <i>N. driksii</i> genomes were found to possess genes responsible for producing lasso peptides, which are crucial for antimicrobial defense, communication, and enzyme inhibition. Isolation of <i>N. driksii</i> from cleanrooms, Agave plants, and dryland wheat soils, suggested niche-specific ecology and resilience under various environmentally challenging conditions. The discovery of potent antimicrobial agents from novel <i>N. driksii</i> underscores the importance of genome mining and the isolation of rare microorganisms. Bioactive gene clusters potentially producing nicotianamine-like siderophores were found in <i>N. driksii</i> genomes. These siderophores can be used for bioremediation to remove heavy metals from contaminated environments, promote plant growth by aiding iron uptake in agriculture, and treat iron overload conditions in medical applications.
Authors
- Nitin K. Singh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5344-1190)
- Karthik Raman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9311-7093)
- Anna Simpson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9493-2030)
- Shobhan Karthick Muthamilselvi Sivabalan
- Francesca McDonagh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0830-4899)
- Lukasz M. Szydlowski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3953-8417)
- Pratyay Sengupta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0184-9335)
- P. D. Rekha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9187-6395)
- Kasthuri J. Venkateswaran (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6742-0873)
- Georgios Miliotis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0944-2206)
- Asif Hameed (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4445-7080)
Institutions
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US)
- Yenepoya University (IN)
- Ollscoil na Gaillimhe – University of Galway (IE)
- Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IN)
- Blue Marble Space (US)
- Ecologie microbienne (FR)
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Microbiology Spectrum
- Published
- 2024-11-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01376-24
- Citations
- 7
- Primary Topic
- Probiotics and Fermented Foods
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.44
Funders
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- California Institute of Technology
- University of Galway
- Indian Institute of Technology Madras
- Ministry of Education, India
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory