Niallia tiangongensis
| Niallia tiangongensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Kingdom: | Bacillati |
| Phylum: | Bacillota |
| Class: | Bacilli |
| Order: | Bacillales |
| Family: | Bacillaceae |
| Genus: | Niallia |
| Species: | N. tiangongensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Niallia tiangongensis Yuan et al. 2025 | |
Niallia tiangongensis is a Gram-positive, aerobic, spore-forming, rod-shaped bacterium belonging to the genus Niallia within the family Bacillaceae. It was first isolated from surface samples collected aboard the Tiangong space station during China's Shenzhou 15 mission in May 2023. The species was formally described in 2025 following genomic and phenotypic analyses.[1][2][3]
Discovery
Samples leading to the identification of N. tiangongensis were obtained from the surface of hardware within the Tiangong space station as part of the China Space Station Habitation Area Microbiome Program (CHAMP). The collected samples were returned to Earth for analysis, where the strain was isolated and characterized.[1][2]
The species is particularly adept at metabolizing gelatin.[4]
Check Out
- Tiangong space station
- Niallia
References
- 1 2 Yuan, Junxia; Zhang, Wende; Dang, Lei; Song, Yan; Yin, Zhao; He, Ziwei; Xu, Kanyan; Guo, Pei; Yin, Hong (March 2025). "Niallia tiangongensis sp. nov., isolated from the China Space Station". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 75 (3). doi:10.1099/ijsem.0.006693. PMID 40029317.
- 1 2 Jones, Andrew (2025-05-21). "New species of space-adapted bacteria discovered on China's Tiangong space station". Space. Retrieved 2025-05-22.
- ↑ Garay, Jorge. "New Bacteria Have Been Discovered on a Chinese Space Station". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2025-05-22.
- ↑ Yuan, Junxia; Zhang, Wende; Dang, Lei; Song, Yan; Yin, Zhao; He, Ziwei; Xu, Kanyan; Guo, Pei; Yin, Hong (March 2025). "Niallia tiangongensis sp. nov., isolated from the China Space Station". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 75 (3). doi:10.1099/ijsem.0.006693. ISSN 1466-5034. PMID 40029317.