Developing an alternative medium for in-space biomanufacturing
Date
2025-01-16
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Nature Communications
Abstract
In-space biomanufacturing provides a sustainable solution to facilitate long-term, self-sufficient human habitation in extraterrestrial environments. However, its dependence on Earth-supplied feedstocks renders in-space biomanufacturing economically nonviable. Here, we develop a process termed alternative feedstock-driven in-situ biomanufacturing (AF-ISM) to alleviate dependence on Earth-based resupply of feedstocks. Specifically, we investigate three alternative feedstocks (AF)—Martian and Lunar regolith, post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate, and fecal waste—to develop an alternative medium for lycopene production using Rhodococcus jostii PET strain S6 (RPET S6). Our results show that RPET S6 could directly utilize regolith simulant particles as mineral replacements, while the addition of anaerobically pretreated fecal waste synergistically supported its cell growth. Additionally, lycopene production using AF under microgravity conditions achieved levels comparable to those on Earth. Furthermore, an economic analysis shows significant lycopene production cost reductions using AF-ISM versus conventional methods. Overall, this work highlights the viability of AF-ISM for in-space biomanufacturing.
Description
This article was originally published in Nature Communications. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56088-2.
© The Author(s) 2025.
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Keywords
astrobiology, biochemical assays, environmental biotechnology, metabolic engineering, synthetic biology
Citation
Lee, H., Diao, J., Tian, Y. et al. Developing an alternative medium for in-space biomanufacturing. Nat Commun 16, 728 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56088-2