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Spatial characterization of microbial communities on multi-species leafy greens grown simultaneously in the Veggie vegetable production systems on the International Space Station VEG-03D

Metadata Updated: April 10, 2026

Investigates the microbial communities of plants and Veggie pillow components with culturable and non-culturable methods providing qualitative and quantitative data. This studies also stresses the food safety component of fresh crops grown on the ISS. The VEG-03D technology demonstration was completed achieving simultaneous multi-species plant growth within a Veggie unit on the International Space Station (ISS). Microbiological characterization using molecular and culture-based methods was performed on leaves and roots from two harvests of three leafy greens, red romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa cv. ‘Outredgeous’); mizuna mustard, (Brassica rapa var japonica); and green leaf lettuce, (Lactuca sativa cv. Waldmann’s) and associated rooting pillow components and Veggie chamber surfaces. Culture based enumeration and pathogen screening indicated the leafy greens were safe for consumption. Surface samples of the Veggie facility and plant pillows revealed low counts of bacteria and fungi and are commonly isolated on ISS. Community analysis was completed with 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Comparisons between pillow components, and plant tissue types from VEG-03D, E, and F revealed higher diversity in roots and rooting substrate than the leaves and wick. This work provides valuable information for food production-related research on the ISS and the impact of the plant microbiome on this unique closed environment.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: See this page for license information.

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Created Date April 11, 2025
Metadata Updated Date April 10, 2026

Metadata Source

Harvested from NASA Data.json

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date April 11, 2025
Metadata Updated Date April 10, 2026
Publisher Open Science Data Repository
Maintainer
Identifier 10.26030/0jpd-te04
Data Last Modified 2026-04-06
Category Biological and Physical Sciences
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 026:00
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 2f1b7460-6387-44d8-9b2f-805062dcf6b7
Harvest Source Id 58f92550-7a01-4f00-b1b2-8dc953bd598f
Harvest Source Title NASA Data.json
License https://www.usa.gov/government-works
Program Code 026:000
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 280690060bfdcff8d391c5277af446fdcc9b89751e2b1d2ba922e325a6ee6567
Source Schema Version 1.1

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