Vitamin B12 supply in space?
We humans already owe a great deal to the yeast *Saccharomyces cerevisiae *. It plays a key role in the production of alcoholic beverages and is also used as baker’s yeast. In addition, it produces vitamin B12 and fats. Ensuring a supply of vitamin B12 for people on long-term space missions is one of the challenges being addressed by the German Aerospace Center in Cologne. Astronauts will be able to eat only a strictly vegetarian diet, as this is the only environmentally sustainable option recommended in a closed system such as a space capsule. However, a strictly vegetarian diet will lead to a vitamin B12 deficiency and, consequently, to a gradual degradation of the nervous system. S. cerevisiae could serve as a potential source of vitamin B12 here, as it is inexpensive to cultivate and provides the necessary vitamins. Therefore, it is important to investigate the effects of acceleration, weightlessness, and radiation—as experienced during a stay in space—on the yeast cells and the production of vitamin B12. The cells were pre-tested and cultured at the Wine Campus Neustadt in preparation for a parabolic flight aboard a high-altitude research rocket from the MAPHEUS program of the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Early in the morning of June 13, 2019, part of the yeast culture was launched into space, while the second part remained on Earth in Kiruna as a control. After a successful landing, both samples returned to Neustadt via Cologne. There, at the Wine Campus, growth experiments have been conducted with both cultures to date, which currently show no differences between the sample that flew and the reference sample. The cells were further cultured and used in wine and beer production. This is the most cost-effective method for detecting changes in the cells caused by the flight. Furthermore, the sensory evaluation of more than 300 test subjects in a triangle test revealed no significant difference in the smell or taste of the beverages, whether among an untrained or a trained panel. The majority of the participants were unable to distinguish either the “Allbier” or the “Allwein” from the variants produced using the strain that remained on Earth. This suggests that the flight had no effect on the yeast cells and that the yeast can, in principle, be used to supply the Habinauts with vitamin B12.
Friederike Rex is a microbiologist in the Scharfenberger-Schmeer research group at the Institute for Viticulture and Enology of the Rural Area Service Center (DLR) Rhenish Palatinate in Neustadt an der Weinstraße and teaches at the Wine Campus Neustadt
Dominik Rödel is a managing director of the LandauerBierprojekt
Jens Hauslage is a researcher at the Institute for Aerospace Medicine at the German Aerospace Center (DLR)