Temporal dynamics of the gut microbiota in people sharing a confined environment, a 520-day ground-based space simulation, MARS500.
The intestinal microbial communities and their temporal dynamics are gaining increasing interest due to the significant implications for human health. Recent studies have shown the dynamic behavior of the gut microbiota in free-living, healthy persons. To date, it is not known whether these dynamics are applicable during prolonged life sharing in a confined and controlled environment.



The MARS500 project, the longest ground-based space simulation ever, provided us with a unique opportunity to trace the crew microbiota over 520 days of isolated confinement, such as that faced by astronauts in real long-term interplanetary space flights, and after returning to regular life, for a total of 2 years. According to our data, even under the strictly controlled conditions of an enclosed environment, the human gut microbiota is inherently dynamic, capable of shifting between different steady states, typically with rearrangements of autochthonous members. Notwithstanding a strong individuality in the overall gut microbiota trajectory, some key microbial components showed conserved temporal dynamics, with potential implications for the maintenance of a health-promoting, mutualistic microbiota configuration.



Sharing life in a confined habitat does not affect the resilience of the individual gut microbial ecosystem, even in the long term. However, the temporal dynamics of certain microbiota components should be monitored when programming future mission simulations and real space flights, to prevent breakdowns in the metabolic and immunological homeostasis of the crewmembers.
Unit of Microbial Ecology of Health, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, 40126, Italy. silvia.turroni@unibo.it.
Silvia
S
Turroni
Unit of Microbial Ecology of Health, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, 40126, Italy.
Simone
S
Rampelli
Unit of Microbial Ecology of Health, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, 40126, Italy.
Elena
E
Biagi
Institute of Biomedical Technologies - National Research Council (ITB-CNR), Segrate, Milan, 20090, Italy.
Clarissa
C
Consolandi
Institute of Biomedical Technologies - National Research Council (ITB-CNR), Segrate, Milan, 20090, Italy.
Marco
M
Severgnini
Institute of Biomedical Technologies - National Research Council (ITB-CNR), Segrate, Milan, 20090, Italy.
Clelia
C
Peano
Unit of Microbial Ecology of Health, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, 40126, Italy.
Sara
S
Quercia
Unit of Microbial Ecology of Health, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, 40126, Italy.
Matteo
M
Soverini
Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, 72704, USA.
Franck G
FG
Carbonero
Department for Innovation in Biological, Agrofood, and Forest Systems, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, 01100, Italy.
Giovanna
G
Bianconi
Radiation Biology Department, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Cologne, 51147, Germany.
Petra
P
Rettberg
Department for Innovation in Biological, Agrofood, and Forest Systems, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, 01100, Italy.
Francesco
F
Canganella
Unit of Microbial Ecology of Health, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, 40126, Italy.
Patrizia
P
Brigidi
Unit of Microbial Ecology of Health, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, 40126, Italy. marco.candela@unibo.it.
Marco
0000-0001-7420-790X
M
Candela
D020378:Confined Spaces; D004777:Environment; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D006801:Humans; D013026:Space Flight; D018561:Space Simulation; D013597:Systems Analysis; D013997:Time Factors
Confined environment; Gut microbiota; Life sharing; MARS500; Resilience; Space flight; Temporal dynamics