ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Extreme Microbiology
Impact of Simulated Microgravity in Short-term Evolution of an RNA Bacteriophage
Provisionally accepted
- 1Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Torrejón de Ardoz, Spain
- 2Escuela de Doctorado, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, Spain
- 3GI en Desarrollo de Especies y Comunidades Leñosas (WooSp), Departamento de Sistemas y Recursos Naturales, ETSI Montes, Forestal y del Medio Natural, Univeridad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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This study explores the short-term evolution of bacteriophage Qβ under simulated microgravity conditions using a 3D-clinostat. The phage, a potential component of the human gut microbiome, infects Escherichia coli by targeting the F pilus. Infections in semisolid medium under simulated microgravity produced lower viral yields compared to standard gravity, a result that was explained on the basis of hindered diffusion and delayed initiation of infections. Over 10 serial transfers, mutation C2011A (resulting in the amino acid substitution T222N in the virus A1 protein), which has been reported to enhance viral entry, became fixed in simulated microgravity-evolved lines but not in those evolved in standard gravity. Under simulated microgravity, this mutation increased virus titers and promoted faster initiation of infections in semisolid medium. However, those effects were not appreciable in normal gravity. The findings highlight the adaptability of Qβ and the potential impact of microgravity on phage-host interactions, offering insights into virus evolution in extraterrestrial conditions and its implications for space missions and planetary protection.
Keywords: Bacteriophage Qβ, experimental evolution, simulated microgravity, phage-hostinteractions, space microbiology, molecular evolution
Received: 06 Aug 2025; Accepted: 17 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Rodríguez-Moreno, Martín-Blázquez, López De Heredia, Soto and Lázaro. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ester Lázaro, lazarole@cab.inta-csic.es
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