Aparna Krishnavajhala’s research while affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine and other places

The surge in commercial and civilian spaceflight enables the systematic and longitudinal, large-scale biospecimen collection to understand the prospective effects of space travel on human health. The Genomics and Space Medicine (Space Omics) project at BCM-HGSC involves a comprehensive biospecimen collection plan from commercial/private space flight participants. The manuscript addresses the critical gaps in the biospecimen collection process including details of the informed consent process, a provision for subjects to obtain custom CLIA-WGS reports, a data dictionary and a LIMS enabled biobank. The manuscript also discusses the biospecimens collection, processing methodologies and nucleic acid suitability for Omics data generation. Results from Axiom-2 mission where, 339 biospecimens were collected using 'Genomic Evaluation of Space Travel and Research (GENESTAR)' manual, at two different sites, showed that 98% of the blood samples and 91.6% of the non-blood samples passed the QC requirements for Omics assays, underscoring the reliability and effectiveness of the GENESTAR manual.

The surge in commercial and civilian spaceflight enables for the first time, systematic and longitudinal, large-scale biospecimen collection to understand prospective effects of space travel on human health. The Genomics and Space Medicine (Space Omics) project at BCM-HGSC involves a comprehensive biospecimen collection plan from commercial/private space flight participants (SFP). Biospecimens from multiple pre-launch (leading up to quarantine period) and post-return (the day of return, R + 0 onwards) time points are collected. The diverse array of biospecimen collections include venous blood, body swabs, saliva, stool, and urine samples and their derivatives. The manuscript addresses the critical gaps thus far in the biospecimen collection process such as informed consent process and a provision for subjects to obtain custom CLIA-WGS reports. We discuss here, the biospecimens collection, processing methodologies and nucleic acids’ suitability for Omics data generation, including successful generation of 16S rRNA data that have been presented as a ‘Genomic Evaluation of Space Travel and Research (GENESTAR)’ manual. Results from Axiom-2 mission where, a total of 339 biospecimens were collected using this manual, at two different sites, showed that 98% of the accessed blood samples and 91.6% of the non-blood samples passed the QC requirements for Omics assays, underscoring the reliability and effectiveness of the GENESTAR manual. Also for the for the first time, to support Space Omics studies, details of a data dictionary and a LIMS enabled biobank, are provided.

Soft ticks from the Ornithodoros genus are vectors of relapsing fever (RF) spirochetes around the world. In Mexico, they were originally described in the 19th century. However, few recent surveillance studies have been conducted in Mexico, and regions where RF spirochetes circulate remain vague. Here, the presence of soft ticks in populated areas was assessed in two sites from the Mexican states of Aguascalientes and Zacatecas. Argasidae ticks were collected, identified by morphology and mitochondrial 16S rDNA gene sequencing, and tested for RF borreliae. The specimens in both sites were identified as Ornithodoros turicata but no RF spirochetes were detected. These findings emphasize the need to update the distribution of these ticks in multiple regions of Mexico and to determine the circulation of RF borreliosis in humans and domestic animals.