Toward biotechnology in space: High-throughput instruments for in situ biological research beyond Earth

Unbiased Strain-Typing of Arbovirus Directly from Mosquitoes Using Nanopore Sequencing: A Field-forward Biosurveillance Protocol

“…This has not been lost on the research community and efforts to push nanopore-based molecular biosurveillance as far afield as possible have been prodigous 28,29,38,63,64 , including Low-Earth orbit 65 and beyond. 66,67 However, while carrying the items that are physically handled during sample processing is trivial, transporting the accompanying power and cold-chain logistical equipment has been more challenging and likely a primary factor preventing wider adoption of the technology in austere public health settings. The incredibly small footprint of the MinION is not fully empowered when one must also transport diesel generators, fuel, and mini-freezers as well.…”

Fungal Biotechnology in Space: Why and How?

“…These might be an interesting alternative for use at the ISS, as bag systems are preferred in the spaceflight context. In the future, miniaturized cultivation in microtiter (or smaller) scale should be achieved for highthroughput screenings or others (Karouia et al 2017;Cairns et al 2018). However, for the production of compounds of interest, the main challenge will be to cultivate at a large scale.…”

“…This chapter highlights the potential of fungal space biotechnology in providing new and sustainable solutions to some of the grand challenges faced by our society. Until now, reviews on biotechnology in space have focused on yeast, mammalian cell culture, tissue culture and engineering, protein crystallization or technologies applied to biology in space (such as PCR or sequencing technology) (Karouia et al 2017;Betzel et al 2017;Grimm 2017;Ronnie 2013). Here, the term biotechnology will follow the definition from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as ".…”

A Concept of Biopharmaceutical Nanosatellite

“…Specifically, taking into account the progress in automation and miniaturization of the so-called omics techniques 15 (such as DNA sequencing), there is emerging possibility to apply them to biotechnology and pharmacology research conducted in space. 16 The novelty we are proposing to implement in the space environment is the cell cultures equipped with (micro-)fluidic system, designed to conduct biopharmaceutical studies. Although prokaryotic cells such bacteria (e.g., Escherichia coli) and fungi (e.g., yeast S. cerevisiae) provide a well-established standard for studying impact of radiation on genetic information (e.g., double-strand breaks), testing of pharmaceutics requires the use of more sophisticated eukaryotic cell cultures.…”