The last decade has witnessed a renewed interest in space exploration. Public and private institutions are investing considerable effort toward the direct exploration of the Moon and Mars, as well as more distant bodies in the solar system. Both automated and human-crewed spacecraft are being considered in these efforts. As inevitable fellow travelers on the bodies of astronauts, spaceships, or equipment, terrestrial microorganisms will undoubtedly come into contact with extraterrestrial environments, despite stringent decontamination. These microorganisms could eventually adapt and grow in their new habitats, where they might potentially recolonize and lead to the infection of the human space travelers. In this article, we demonstrate that clinically relevant bacterial species found in the environment are able to grow in minimal media with sugar compounds identified in extraterrestrial carbon sources. As a surrogate model, we used carbohydrates previously isolated from carbonaceous meteorites. The bacteria underwent an adaptation process that caused structural modifications in the cell envelope that sparked changes in pathogenic potential, both in vitro and in vivo. Understanding the adaptation of microorganisms exposed to extraterrestrial environments, with subsequent changes in their immunogenicity and virulence, requires a comprehensive analysis of such scenarios to ensure the safety of major space expeditions in the decades to come.

中文翻译：

---

碳质陨石中碳水化合物的生长改变了环境衍生细菌病原体的免疫原性。

过去十年见证了对太空探索的新兴趣。公共和私人机构正在投入大量精力直接探索月球和火星，以及太阳系中更遥远的天体。这些努力正在考虑自动化和载人航天器。作为宇航员、宇宙飞船或设备上不可避免的同伴，尽管经过严格的净化，陆地微生物无疑会与外星环境接触。这些微生物最终可能会在新的栖息地适应和生长，在那里它们可能会重新定殖并导致人类太空旅行者的感染。在本文中，我们证明，在环境中发现的临床相关细菌物种能够在含有外星碳源中鉴定出的糖化合物的基本培养基中生长。作为替代模型，我们使用了以前从碳质陨石中分离出来的碳水化合物。细菌经历了一个适应过程，导致细胞膜结构发生变化，从而引发致病潜力的变化，两者都是体外和体内。了解暴露于外星环境的微生物的适应性及其免疫原性和毒力的后续变化，需要对此类情况进行全面分析，以确保未来几十年重大太空探险的安全。