New paper: beneficial microbes mitigate stress & accelerate development during spaceflight 🦑

AWG Discussions Microbial AWG Topics
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Just out in Frontiers in Space Technologies — a really compelling multi-omics study (transcriptomics, lipidomics, metabolomics) from Jamie Foster’s group at UF using the squid-vibrio symbiosis aboard SpaceX CRS-22:

Beneficial microbes mitigate molecular stress responses and accelerate developmental pathways in host animals during spaceflight

Koch, Conesa, Garrett et al. (2026) | https://doi.org/10.3389/frspt.2026.1791484

The short version: in microgravity, beneficial microbes actively calmed host stress responses and triggered developmental programs faster than ground controls — a striking host-microbe result with real implications for long-duration spaceflight.

The study combines three assay types — transcriptomics (RNA-seq), lipidomics, and metabolomics — with the RNA-seq data (32 samples) deposited to NCBI BioProject PRJNA1066592, (SRX23333868–SRX23333899. The RNAseq, lipidomics and metabolomics data aren’t in OSDR yet, but that’s a conversation worth having :blush:

@ben.sikes @nicholas.brereton — this looks like a direct hit for your host-microbe subgroup. Would the community be interested in inviting Jamie Foster to give a talk at an April or May @MicrobesAWG or @AnimalAWG meeting? Happy to reach out if there’s appetite for it — let me know below! FYI @paula6 & @tejaswini.mishra

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Yes, excellent paper! Would be great idea to have her present at animal AWG - Great idea @rtscott2001 :clap::clap:

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Right?! Then again, maybe I should ask to give an AWG-wide talk?

What do you think, you think discussion should focus on potential collaboration with her? Or more broad just explanation of the science to the broader AWGers?

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Agreed for AWG-wide talk invite! Strong multidisciplinary and multiomics discussion in space biology! :dizzy::ok_hand:

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Got it. Will reach out to Jamie :blush: