''Solibacillus kalamii'' is a

Gram-positive In bacteriology, gram-positive bacteria are bacteria that give a positive result in the Gram stain test, which is traditionally used to quickly classify bacteria into two broad categories according to their type of cell wall. Gram-positive bac ...

rod-shaped A bacillus (), also called a bacilliform bacterium or often just a rod (when the context makes the sense clear), is a rod-shaped bacterium or archaeon. Bacilli are found in many different taxonomic groups of bacteria. However, the name '' Bacil ...

endospore An endospore is a dormant, tough, and non-reproductive structure produced by some bacteria in the phylum Bacillota. The name "endospore" is suggestive of a spore or seed-like form (''endo'' means 'within'), but it is not a true spore (i.e., not ...

-forming and aerobic bacterium from the genus of '' Solibacillus'' which has been isolated from a high-efficiency particulate arrestance filter system from the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest Modular design, modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos ( ...

Discovery

The bacteria was found in the high-efficiency particulate arrestance filter or HEPA filter, which is the routine housekeeping and cleaning system on board the International Space Station. The filter on which the new bug was found remained on board the ISS for 40 months. This filter was later analysed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the foremost lab of

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

for work on interplanetary travel, in 2017. The discovery was published by Dr. Kasthuri Venkateswaran, senior research scientist, Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, in the

International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology The ''International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research in the field of microbial systematics that was established in 1951. Its scope covers the taxonomy, nomenclature, id ...

. The new bacteria was named after the late President of

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who was a renowned aerospace scientist and had his early training at NASA in 1963.

Characteristics

They tend to withstand high radiation and also produce some useful compounds protein-wise which will be helpful for biotechnology applications. Researchers have not characterised the bacteria fully but they are of the view that the new bug could be a key source for chemicals that can help protect against radiation damage.

References

External links

Type strain of ''Solibacillus kalamii'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
Bacillales Bacteria described in 2017 {{Gammaproteobacteria-stub