And if our microbiota would be martian ? What would it look like ?

Some researchers tried to answer these questions by observing the intestinal microbiota dynamics after a long confinement.

To do this, 6 astronauts from Russia, Europe and China participated in the Mars 500 project, in Moscow.

The astronauts were isolated and locked up for 520 days in a spacecraft replica, under simulated flight conditions to Mars.

So many factors make this experiment unique : lack of social interaction, reduced contact with environment and limited resources.

Results from Mars 500 confirm that intestinal microbiota is a dynamic element that remains unique to each person. Despite its uniqueness, a certain convergence of the microbiota evolution was reported in this case of confinement.

Moreover, this mission also highlights that stress and isolation imbalances the intestinal microbiota through the modification of the short-chain fatty acids production, involving metabolic and immune disorders.

LC

Reference

TURRONI S, RAMPELLI S, BIAGI E, CONSOLANDI C, SEVERGNINI M, PEANO C, QUERCIA S, SOVERNINI M, CARBONERO FG, BIANCONI G, RETTBERG P, CANGANELLA F, BRIDGI P, CANDELA M. Temporal dynamics of the gut microbiota in people sharing a confined environment, a 520-day ground-based space simulation, MARS500. Microbiome. 2017, 5(1), 39