''Solibacillus kalamii'' is a
Gram-positive
In bacteriology, gram-positive bacteria are bacteria that give a positive result in the Gram stain test, which is traditionally used to quickly classify bacteria into two broad categories according to their type of cell wall.
Gram-positive bact ...
,
rod-shaped
A bacillus (), also called a bacilliform bacterium or often just a rod (when the context makes the sense clear), is a rod-shaped bacterium or archaeon. Bacilli are found in many different taxonomic groups of bacteria. However, the name '' Baci ...
,
endospore-forming and
aerobic
Aerobic means "requiring air," in which "air" usually means oxygen.
Aerobic may also refer to
* Aerobic exercise, prolonged exercise of moderate intensity
* Aerobics, a form of aerobic exercise
* Aerobic respiration, the aerobic process of cel ...
bacterium from the genus of ''
Solibacillus
''Solibacillus'' is a genus of Gram positive, rod shaped, spore-forming bacteria.
The first member of ''Solibacillus'' was first isolated in 1999, and was originally called ''Bacillus silvestris''. However, further studies on ''B. silvestris'' ...
'' which has been isolated from a high-efficiency particulate arrestance filter system from the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...
.
Discovery
The bacteria was found in the high-efficiency particulate arrestance filter or HEPA filter, which is the routine housekeeping and cleaning system on board the International Space Station. The filter on which the new bug was found remained on board the ISS for 40 months. This filter was later analysed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the foremost lab of NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
for work on interplanetary travel, in 2017. The discovery was published by Dr. Kasthuri Venkateswaran, senior research scientist, Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, in the .
The new bacteria was named after the late President of India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (; 15 October 193127 July 2015) was an Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and studied phy ...
, who was a renowned aerospace scientist and had his early training at NASA in 1963.
Characteristics
They tend to withstand high radiation and also produce some useful compounds protein-wise which will be helpful for biotechnology applications. Researchers have not characterised the bacteria fully but they are of the view that the new bug could be a key source for chemicals that can help protect against radiation damage.
References
External links
Type strain of ''Solibacillus kalamii'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
Bacillales
Bacteria described in 2017
{{Gammaproteobacteria-stub