Microgravity-induced constraints on melanin bioproduction: investigating E. coli metabolic responses aboard the international space station.

ABSTRACT: Space biomanufacturing using engineered microbes offers a sustainable approach for producing biomaterials, pharmaceuticals, and essential metabolites, critical for long-duration space missions. However, microgravity-induced physiological changes can alter microbial metabolism and biosynthetic efficiency. This study investigated the effects of microgravity on melanin biosynthesis in non-motile Escherichia coli aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Despite expressing functional tyrosinase, ISS-grown E. coli exhibited significantly lower melanin production than ground controls. Differential pulse voltammetry revealed high extracellular tyrosine in ISS samples, indicating inefficient substrate catalysis. Low Shear Modeled Microgravity (LSMMG) experiments in the Rotating Wall Vessel bio

SUBMITTER: Hennessa TM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12913979 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature