Predicting how varying moisture conditions impact the microbiome of dust collected from the International Space Station (ISS)
On Earth, people spend 90% of their time indoors where dust and moisture can facilitate rapid microbial growth, especially fungi. The International Space Station is a specialized closed environment that contains own unique indoor microbiome. Elevated moisture such as from a temporary ventilation system malfunction may lead to unintended microbial growth indoors, which is associated with negative health outcomes and degradation of essential built environment materials. We need to develop a predictive approach for modeling microbial growth to understand when it may occur in these critical indoor spaces. Here we demonstrate that exposure to even fluctuating elevated relative humidity above 80% can lead to rapid microbial growth and community composition changes in dust from spacecraft. We were able to model fungal growth in space station dust using the time-of-wetness framework with activation and deactivation limited growth occurring at 85% and 100% relative humidity conditions, respectively. Alpha and beta diversity of fungi was altered with both significantly decreasing as relative humidity and time elevated increased. Our results demonstrate that we can use moisture conditions to develop predictive models for fungal growth and composition. Understanding microbial growth in spacecraft can protect astronaut health, spacecraft integrity, and promote planetary protection as human activity increases in low-Earth orbit, the moon, Mars, and beyond.
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| description | On Earth, people spend 90% of their time indoors where dust and moisture can facilitate rapid microbial growth, especially fungi. The International Space Station is a specialized closed environment that contains own unique indoor microbiome. Elevated moisture such as from a temporary ventilation system malfunction may lead to unintended microbial growth indoors, which is associated with negative health outcomes and degradation of essential built environment materials. We need to develop a predictive approach for modeling microbial growth to understand when it may occur in these critical indoor spaces. Here we demonstrate that exposure to even fluctuating elevated relative humidity above 80% can lead to rapid microbial growth and community composition changes in dust from spacecraft. We were able to model fungal growth in space station dust using the time-of-wetness framework with activation and deactivation limited growth occurring at 85% and 100% relative humidity conditions, respectively. Alpha and beta diversity of fungi was altered with both significantly decreasing as relative humidity and time elevated increased. Our results demonstrate that we can use moisture conditions to develop predictive models for fungal growth and composition. Understanding microbial growth in spacecraft can protect astronaut health, spacecraft integrity, and promote planetary protection as human activity increases in low-Earth orbit, the moon, Mars, and beyond. |
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| identifier | 10.26030/87vb-2280 |
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| modified | 2025-08-21 |
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| title | Predicting how varying moisture conditions impact the microbiome of dust collected from the International Space Station (ISS) |
