Dr. Kasthuri Venkateswaran

Dr. Kasthuri Venkateswaran (Venkat) is the Senior Research Scientist at NASA – Jet Propulsion Laboratory and supports Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group. His 42+ years of research encompass marine, food, and environmental microbiology. He is also leading ISS “Microbial Observatory” projects to measure microorganisms associated with U.S. nodes, as well as Kibo Japanese Experiment Modules. He has applied his research in molecular microbial analysis to better understand the ecological aspects of microbes, while conducting field studies in several extreme environments such as deep sea (2,500 m), spacecraft mission (Mars Odyssey, Genesis, Mars Exploration Rovers, Mars Express), assembly facility clean rooms (various NASA and European Space Agency [ESA] facilities), and the space environment in Earth orbit (ISS; ESA Columbus facility). He directs several research and development tasks for the JPL – Mars Program Office, which enables the cleaning, sterilization, and validation of spacecraft components. He directs several NASA competitive awards on the microbial monitoring of spacecraft and associated environments for the Exploration System Mission Directorate, closed habitats like ISS or its Earth analogues for the Human Exploration and Operation Mission Directorate. Also, he provides expertise for non-NASA programs such as commercial agencies (Boeing – airline cabin air measurement), medical industries (tissue and organ transplants processing) in measuring microbial pathogens that are problematic and health related. The bioinformatics databases generated by Venkateswaran’s team are extremely useful in the development of biosensors. Further, these models or information in database are extrapolated to what is known about the spacecraft surfaces and enclosed habitats in an attempt to determine forward contamination as well as develop countermeasures (advance cleaning and sterilization technologies) to control the problematic microbial species. Specifically, his research into the study of clean room environment using state-of-the art molecular analysis coupled with nucleic acid and protein-based microarray, will allow accurate interpretation of data and implementation of planetary protection policies of present missions, helping to set standards for future life-detection missions.


Education: 
  • M.S. in Marine Biology, Annamalai University, India (1977)
  • Ph.D. in Marine Microbiology, Annamalai University, India (1982)
  • Doctorate in Agriculture (Food Microbiology & Hygiene; Hiroshima Univ.) (1990)

Research Interests: 
  • Microbiology
  • Extremophile
  • Molecular Microbiology

Professional Experience: 

43 years of research encompass marine, food and environmental microbiology. He has applied his research in molecular microbial analysis to better understand the ecological aspects of microbes, while conducting field studies in several extreme environments such as deep sea (2,500 m), spacecraft (Mars Odyssey, Genesis, MER, Mars Express) assembly facility clean rooms (various NASA and ESA facilities) as well as the space environment in Earth orbit (International Space Station).


Selected Awards: 

  • NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal for Research (2017)

  • NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal for Technology (2017)

  • NASA Voyager Award in 2016
  • Recipient of first “One NASA Peer Award” in 2005
  • JPL Center – One NASA Peer Award in 2005
  • NASA Space Act Award recipient in 2003, 2005, 2008
  • Novel Technology Report Awards (25)

Selected Publications: 
  1. Blachowicz A, Chiang AJ, Romsdahl J, Kalkum M, Wang CCC, Venkateswaran K. Proteomic characterization of Aspergillus fumigatus isolated from air and surfaces of the International Space Station. Fungal Genet Biol. 2019.
  2. Urbaniak C, Sielaff AC, Frey KG, Allen JE, Singh N, Jaing C, et al. Detection of antimicrobial resistance genes associated with the International Space Station environmental surfaces. Nature Scientific Reports. 2018;8(1):814.
  3. Urbaniak C, Massa G, Hummerick M, Khodadad C, Schuerger A, Venkateswaran K. Draft Genome Sequences of Two Fusarium oxysporum Isolates Cultured from Infected Zinnia hybrida Plants Grown on the International Space Station. Genome Announcements. 2018;6(20).
  4. Singh NK, Wood JM, Karouia F, Venkateswaran K. Correction to: Succession and persistence of microbial communities and antimicrobial resistance genes associated with International Space Station environmental surfaces. Microbiome. 2018;6(1):214.
  5. Singh NK, Bezdan D, Checinska Sielaff A, Wheeler K, Mason CE, Venkateswaran K. Multi-drug resistant Enterobacter bugandensis species isolated from the International Space Station and comparative genomic analyses with human pathogenic strains. BMC Microbiol. 2018;18(1):175.
  6. Checinska Sielaff A, Urbaniaka C, Mohana GBM, Stepanov VG, Tranb Q, Wooda J, et al. Characterization of the total and viable bacterial and fungal communities associated with the International Space Station surfaces. Microbiome. 2018;submitted.
  7. Seuylemezian A, Vaishampayan P, Cooper K, Venkateswaran K. Draft Genome Sequences of Acinetobacter and Bacillus Strains Isolated from Spacecraft-Associated Surfaces. Genome Announcements. 2018;6(6).
  8. Romsdahl J, Blachowicz A, Chiang AJ, Singh N, Stajich JE, Kalkum M, et al. Characterization of Aspergillus niger Isolated from the International Space Station. mSystems. 2018;3(5).
  9. Romsdahl J, Blachowicz A, Chiang AJ, Chiang YM, Masonjones S, Yaegashi J, et al. International Space Station conditions alter genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics in Aspergillus nidulans. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2018.
  10. Minich JJ, Zhu Q, Janssen S, Hendrickson R, Amir A, Vetter R, et al. KatharoSeq Enables High-Throughput Microbiome Analysis from Low-Biomass Samples. mSystems. 2018;3(3).
  11. Chiang AJ, Mohan GBM, Singh NK, Horneck G, Venkateswaran K, Kalkum M, editors. Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Bacillus pumilus from Spores that Survived in Outer Space Conditions. 66TH ASMS CONFERENCE ON MASS SPECTROMETRY AND ALLIED TOPICS, 03-07 June 2018; 2018; SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.2018.
  12. Carlson C, Singh NK, Bibra M, Sani RK, Venkateswaran K. Pervasiveness of UVC254-resistant Geobacillus strains in extreme environments. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2018;102(4):1869-87.
  13. Venkateswaran K, Team I-MOE, editors. Microbial Characteristics of ISS Environmental Surfaces. 47th International Conference on Environmental Systems; ICES-2017-177; 2017; Charleston, South Carolina: ICES.
  14. Venkateswaran K, Singh NK, Checinska Sielaff A, Pope RK, Bergman NH, van Tongeren SP, et al. Non-Toxin-Producing Bacillus cereus Strains Belonging to the B. anthracis Clade Isolated from the International Space Station. mSystems. 2017;2(3).
  15. Venkateswaran K, Checinska Sielaff A, Ratnayake S, Pope RK, Blank TE, Stepanov VG, et al. Draft Genome Sequences from a Novel Clade of Bacillus cereus Sensu Lato Strains, Isolated from the International Space Station. Genome Announc. 2017;5(32).
  16. Singh NK, Carlson C, Sani RK, Venkateswaran K. Draft Genome Sequences of Thermophiles Isolated from Yates Shaft, a Deep-Subsurface Environment. Genome Announcements. 2017;5(22):e00405-17.
  17. Singh NK, Blachowicz A, Romsdahl J, Wang C, Torok T, Venkateswaran K. Draft Genome Sequences of Several Fungal Strains Selected for Exposure to Microgravity at the International Space Station. Genome Announcements. 2017;5(15):e01602-16.
  18. Seuylemezian A, Singh NK, Vaishampayan P, Venkateswaran K. Draft Genome Sequence of Solibacillus kalamii, Isolated from an Air Filter Aboard the International Space Station. Genome Announcements. 2017;5(35):e00696-17.
  19. Nuding DL, Gough RV, Venkateswaran KJ, Spry JA, Tolbert MA. Laboratory Investigations on the Survival of Bacillus subtilis Spores in Deliquescent Salt Mars Analog Environments. Astrobiology. 2017;17(10):997-1008.
  20. Hendrickson R, Lundgren P, Malli-Mohan GB, Urbaniak C, Benardini JN, Venkateswaran K, editors. Comprehensive measurement of microbial burden in nutrient-deprived cleanrooms 47th International Conference on Environmental Systems; ICES-2017-177; 2017; Charleston, South Carolina: ICES.
  21. Checinska Sielaff A, Kumar RM, Pal D, Mayilraj S, Venkateswaran K. Solibacillus kalamii sp. nov., isolated from a high-efficiency particulate arrestance filter system used in the International Space Station. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2017;67(4):896-901.
  22. Blachowicz A, Mayer T, Bashir M, Pieber TR, De León P, Venkateswaran K. Human presence impacts fungal diversity of inflated lunar/Mars analog habitat. Microbiome. 2017;5(1):62.
  23. Be NA, Avila-Herrera A, Allen JE, Singh N, Checinska Sielaff A, Jaing C, et al. Whole metagenome profiles of particulates collected from the International Space Station. Microbiome. 2017;5(1):81.
  24. Singh NK, Blachowicz A, Checinska A, Wang C, Venkateswaran K. Draft Genome Sequences of Two Aspergillus fumigatus Strains, Isolated from the International Space Station. Genome Announc. 2016;4(4).
  25. Mayer T, Blachowicz A, Probst AJ, Vaishampayan P, Checinska A, Swarmer T, et al. Microbial succession in an inflated lunar/Mars analog habitat during a 30-day human occupation. Microbiome. 2016;4(1):1-17.
  26. Knox BP, Blachowicz A, Palmer JM, Romsdahl J, Huttenlocher A, Wang CCC, et al. Characterization of Aspergillus fumigatus Isolates from Air and Surfaces of the International Space Station. mSphere. 2016;1(5).
  27. Checinska Sielaff A, Singh NK, Allen JE, Thissen J, Jaing C, Venkateswaran K. Draft Genome Sequences of Biosafety Level 2 Opportunistic Pathogens Isolated from the Environmental Surfaces of the International Space Station. Genome Announcements. 2016;4(6).
  28. Blachowicz A, Knox BP, Romsdah lJ, Palmer JM, Huttenlocher A, Wang CCC, et al. Characterization of Aspergillus fumigatus isolated from air and surfaces of the International Space Station.  13th European Conference on Fungal Genetics; April 3-6, 2016; Paris, France, April 3-6, 20162016.
  29. Benardini JN, Venkateswaran K. Application of the ATP assay to rapidly assess cleanliness of spacecraft surfaces: a path to set a standard for future missions. AMB Express. 2016;6(1):113.
  30. Onofri S, de Vera JP, Zucconi L, Selbmann L, Scalzi G, Venkateswaran KJ, et al. Survival of Antarctic Cryptoendolithic Fungi in Simulated Martian Conditions On Board the International Space Station. Astrobiology. 2015;15(12):1052-9.
  31. Moissl-Eichinger C, Auerbach AK, Probst AJ, Mahnert A, Tom L, Piceno Y, et al. Quo vadis? Microbial profiling revealed strong effects of cleanroom maintenance and routes of contamination in indoor environments. Sci Rep. 2015;5.
  32. Mahnert A, Vaishampayan P, Probst AJ, Auerbach A, Moissl-Eichinger C, Venkateswaran K, et al. Cleanroom Maintenance Significantly Reduces Abundance but Not Diversity of Indoor Microbiomes. PLoS One. 2015;10(8):e0134848.
  33. Gunashree BS, Venkateswaran G. Extracellular phytase from Aspergillus niger CFR 335: purification and characterization. J Food Sci Technol. 2015;52(7):4558-64.
  34. Checinska A, Probst AJ, Vaishampayan P, White JR, Kumar D, Stepanov VG, et al. Microbiomes of the dust particles collected from the International Space Station and Spacecraft Assembly Facilities. Microbiome. 2015;3(1).
  35. Venkateswaran K, Vaishampayan P, Cisneros J, Pierson DL, Rogers SO, Perry J. International Space Station environmental microbiome - microbial inventories of ISS filter debris. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2014;98(14):6453-66.
  36. Venkateswaran K, Vaishampayan P, Benardini JN, 3rd, Rooney AP, Spry JA. Deposition of extreme-tolerant bacterial strains isolated during different phases of Phoenix spacecraft assembly in a public culture collection. Astrobiology. 2014;14(1):24-6.
  37. Venkateswaran K, La Duc MT, Horneck G. Microbial existence in controlled habitats and their resistance to space conditions. Microbes Environ. 2014;29(3):243-9.
  38. Vaishampayan P, Roberts AH, Augustus A, Pukall R, Schumann P, Schwendner P, et al. Deinococcus phoenicis sp. nov., an extreme ionizing-radiation-resistant bacterium isolated from the Phoenix Lander assembly facility. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2014;64(Pt 10):3441-6.
  39. Stepanov VG, Vaishampayan P, Venkateswaran K, Fox GE. Draft genome sequence of Deinococcus phoenicis, a novel strain isolated during the Phoenix Lander spacecraft assembly. Genome Announc. 2014;2(2):e00301-14. doi: 10.1128/genomeA.00301-14.(2):e00301-14. doi: 10.1128/genomeA.-14.
  40. Monsieurs P, Mijnendonckx K, Provoost A, Venkateswaran K, Ott CM, Leys N, et al. Genome Sequences of Cupriavidus metallidurans Strains NA1, NA4, and NE12, Isolated from Space Equipment. Genome Announcements. 2014;2(4):e00719-14.
  41. Monsieurs P, Mijnendonckx K, Provoost A, Venkateswaran K, Ott CM, Leys N, et al. Draft Genome Sequences of Ralstonia pickettii Strains SSH4 and CW2, Isolated from Space Equipment. Genome Announcements. 2014;2(5).
  42. La Duc MT, Venkateswaran K, Conley CA. A genetic inventory of spacecraft and associated surfaces. Astrobiology. 2014;14(1):15-23.
  43. Krebs JE, Vaishampayan P, Probst AJ, Tom LM, Marteinsson VT, Andersen GL, et al. Microbial Community Structures of Novel Icelandic Hot Spring Systems Revealed by PhyloChip G3 Analysis. Astrobiology. 2014;14(3):229-40.
  44. Derecho I, McCoy KB, Vaishampayan P, Venkateswaran K, Mogul R. Characterization of hydrogen peroxide-resistant Acinetobacter species isolated during the Mars Phoenix spacecraft assembly. Astrobiology. 2014;14(10):837-47.
  45. Venkateswaran K, La Duc MT, Vaishampayan P, Spry JA. Microbial life in extreme low-biomass environments – a molecular approach. Washington DC: American Society for Microbiology; 2013.
  46. Vaishampayan P, Probst AJ, La Duc MT, Bargoma E, Benardini JN, Andersen GL, et al. New perspectives on viable microbial communities in low-biomass cleanroom environments. ISME J. 2013;7(2):312-24.
  47. Vaishampayan P, Moissl-Eichinger C, Pukall R, Schumann P, Sproer C, Augustus A, et al. Description of Tersicoccus phoenicis gen. nov., sp. nov. isolated from spacecraft assembly clean room environments. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2013;63(7):2463-71.
  48. Tirumalai MR, Rastogi R, Zamani N, O'Bryant Williams E, Allen S, Diouf F, et al. Candidate genes that may be responsible for the unusual resistances exhibited by Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032 spores. PLoS One. 2013;8(6):e66012.
  49. Probst AJ, Holman HY, Desantis TZ, Andersen GL, Birarda G, Bechtel HA, et al. Tackling the minority: sulfate-reducing bacteria in an archaea-dominated subsurface biofilm. ISME J. 2013;7:635-51.
  50. Mijnendonckx K, Provoost A, Ott CM, Venkateswaran K, Mahillon J, Leys N, et al. Characterization of the survival ability of Cupriavidus metallidurans and Ralstonia pickettii from space-related environments. Microb Ecol. 2013;65(2):347-60.
  51. Cherie MO, Michele NB, Victoria AC, Kasthuri JV, Parag AV, Kathy UJ, et al. Microbial Monitoring of Common Opportunistic Pathogens by Comparing Multiple Real-Time PCR Platforms for Potential Space Applications.  43rd International Conference on Environmental Systems. International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES): American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; 2013.
  52. Bargoma E, La Duc MT, Kwan K, Vaishampayan P, Venkateswaran K. Differential recovery of phylogenetically disparate microbes from spacecraft-qualified metal surfaces. Astrobiology. 2013;13(2):189-202.
  53. Venkateswaran K, La Duc MT, Vaishampayan P. Genetic Inventory Task: Final Report, JPL Publication 12-12. Pasadena, CA.: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; 2012. p. 1-117.
  54. Vaishampayan P, Rabbow E, Horneck G, Venkateswaran K. Survival of Bacillus pumilus spores for a prolonged period of time in real space conditions. Astrobiology. 2012;12(5):487-97.
  55. Stam CN, Bruckner J, Spry JA, Venkateswaran K, La Duc MT. A molecular method to assess bioburden embedded within silicon-based resins used on modern spacecraft materials. International Journal of Astrobiology. 2012;11(03):141-5.
  56. Onofri S, de la Torre R, de Vera J, Ott S, Zucconi L, Selbmann L, et al. Hitchhikers between planets? – Rock-colonising organisms survive 1.5 years in outer space. Astrobiology. 2012;12(5):508-16.
  57. McCoy KB, Derecho I, Wong T, Tran HM, Huynh TD, La Duc MT, et al. Insights into the Extremotolerance of Acinetobacter radioresistens 50v1, a Gram-Negative Bacterium Isolated from the Mars Odyssey Spacecraft. Astrobiology. 2012;12(9):854-62.
  58. La Duc MT, Vaishampayan P, Nilsson HR, Torok T, Venkateswaran K. Pyrosequencing-derived bacterial, archaeal, and fungal diversity of spacecraft hardware destined for Mars. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2012;78(16):5912-22.
  59. Krebs JE, Schrader M, Vaishampayan P, Rabbow E, Rettberg P, K. V. Assessment of Bacillus horneckiae spore survival under simulated space ISS conditions.  ASM General Meeting; June 16-19, 2012.; San Francisco Convention Center, San Francisco, CA: American Society for Microbiology; 2012.
  60. Horneck G, Moeller R, Cadet J, Douki T, Mancinelli RL, Nicholson WL, et al. Resistance of bacterial endospores to outer space for planetary protection purposes--experiment PROTECT of the EXPOSE-E mission. Astrobiology. 2012;12(5):445-56.
  61. Duc MT, Vaishampayan P, Nilsson HR, Torok T, Venkateswaran K. Pyrosequencing-derived bacterial, archaeal, and fungal diversity of spacecraft hardware destined for Mars. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2012;78.
  62. Choi S, Chang MS, Stuecker T, Chung C, Newcombe DA, Venkateswaran K. A fosmid cloning strategy for detecting the widest possible spectrum of microbes from the international space station drinking water system. Genomics & informatics. 2012;10(4):249-55.
  63. Zhu D, Vaishampayan PA, Venkateswaran K, Fox GE. STITCH: algorithm to splice, trim, identify, track, and capture the uniqueness of 16S rRNAs sequence pairs using public or in-house database. Microb Ecol. 2011;61(3):669-75.
  64. Roberts A, Augustus A, Vaishampayan P, Schwendner P, Rettberg P, Salmassi T, et al., editors. Deinococcus phoenicis sp. nov., a novel and highly ionizing-radiation-resistant bacteria isolated from Phoenix Lander assembly facility. 111th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiologists; 2011; New Orleans, LA. San Francisco, CA: ASM.
  65. Moseley MA, Dubois LG, Soderblom EJ, Thompson JW, Carnell L, Fox G, et al., editors. Differential Expression Proteomic Phenotyping of Enhanced Survivability of Bacillus pumilus following 18-Month Extraterrestrial Exposure aboard the International Space Station. American Society for Mass Spectrometry; 2011; Denver, CO: ASMS.
  66. Kwan K, Cooper M, La Duc MT, Vaishampayan P, Stam C, Benardini JN, et al. Evaluation of procedures for the collection, processing, and analysis of biomolecules from low-biomass surfaces. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2011;77(9):2943-53.
  67. Gómez F, Walter N, Amils R, Rull F, Klingelhöfer AK, Kviderova J, et al. Multidisciplinary integrated field campaign to an acidic Martian Earth analogue with astrobiological interest: Rio Tinto. International Journal of Astrobiology. 2011;10(Special Issue 03):291-305.
  68. Cooper M, La Duc MT, Probst A, Vaishampayan P, Stam C, Benardini JN, et al. Comparison of innovative molecular approaches and standard spore assays for assessment of surface cleanliness. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2011;77(15):5438-44.
  69. Benardini JN, Vaishampayan PA, Schwendner P, Swanner E, Fukui Y, Osman S, et al. Paenibacillus phoenicis sp. nov., isolated from the Phoenix Lander assembly facility and a subsurface molybdenum mine. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2011;61(Pt 6):1338-43.
  70. Augustus A, Roberts A, Vaishampayan P, Schwendner P, Moissl-Eichinger C, Salmassi T, et al., editors. Description of Arthrobacter phoenicis sp. nov., isolated from the Phoenix Lander assembly facility. ASM 111th General Meeting; 2011; New Orleans, LA: ASM.
  71. Vaishampayan P, Probst A, Krishnamurthi S, Ghosh S, Osman S, McDowall A, et al. Bacillus horneckiae sp. nov., isolated from a spacecraft-assembly clean room. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2010;60(Pt 5):1031-7.
  72. Vaishampayan P, Osman S, Andersen G, Venkateswaran K. High-density 16S microarray and clone library-based microbial community composition of the Phoenix spacecraft assembly clean room. Astrobiology. 2010;10(5):499-508.
  73. Schwendner P, Vaishampayan P, Osman S, Rabbow E, Moissl-Eichinger C, Horneck G, et al., editors. Viability of Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032 spores after exposing to space and Mars conditions using EXPOSE EuTEF module. 110th General meeting of the American Society for Microbiology; 2010 May 2010.
  74. Probst A, Vaishampayan P, Osman S, Moissl-Eichinger C, Andersen GL, Venkateswaran K. Diversity of anaerobic microbes in spacecraft assembly clean rooms. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2010;76(9):2837-45.
  75. Ghosh S, Osman S, Vaishampayan P, Venkateswaran K. Recurrent isolation of extremotolerant bacteria from the clean room where Phoenix spacecraft components were assembled. Astrobiology. 2010;10(3):325-35.
  76. Vaishampayan P, Miyashita M, Ohnishi A, Satomi M, Rooney A, La Duc MT, et al. Description of Rummeliibacillus stabekisii gen. nov., sp. nov. and reclassification of Bacillus pycnus Nakamura et al. 2002 as Rummeliibacillus pycnus comb. nov. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2009;59(Pt 5):1094-9.
  77. Newcombe D, Dekas A, Mayilraj S, Venkateswaran K. Bacillus canaveralius sp. nov., an alkali-tolerant bacterium isolated from a spacecraft assembly facility. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2009;59(Pt 8):2015-9.
  78. La Duc MT, Osman S, Venkateswaran K. Comparative analysis of methods for the purification of DNA from low-biomass samples based on total yield and conserved microbial diversity. Journal of Rapid Methods & Automation in Microbiology. 2009;17(3):350-68.
  79. La Duc MT, Osman S, Vaishampayan P, Piceno Y, Andersen G, Spry JA, et al. Comprehensive census of bacteria in clean rooms by using DNA microarray and cloning methods. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2009;75(20):6559-67.
  80. Osman S, Peeters Z, La Duc MT, Mancinelli R, Ehrenfreund P, Venkateswaran K. Effect of shadowing on survival of bacteria under conditions simulating the Martian atmosphere and UV radiation. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2008;74(4):959-70.
  81. Osman S, LaDuc MT, Dekas A, Newcombe D, Venkateswaran K. Microbial bioburden and diversity of commercial airline cabin air during short- and long-duration of travel. ISME J. 2008;2:482-97.
  82. Newcombe DA, LaDuc MT, Vaishampayan P, Venkateswaran K. Impact of assembly, testing, and launch operations on the airborne bacterial diversity within a spacecraft assembly facility clean-room. Intern J Astrobiol. 2008;7(3 & 4):223-36.
  83. Moissl C, Bruckner JC, Venkateswaran K. Archaeal diversity analysis of spacecraft assembly clean rooms. ISME J. 2008;2(1):115-9.
  84. Bruckner JC, Osman S, Conley C, Venkateswaran K. Space Microbiology: Planetary Protection, Burden, Diversity and Significance of Spacecraft Associated Microbes. In: Schaechter M, editor. Encyclopedia of Microbiology Oxford: Elsevier; 2008. p. 52-65.
  85. Urgiles E, Wilcox J, Montes O, Osman SAOS, Venkateswaran KAVK, Cepeda MACM, et al., editors. Electron beam Irradiation for Microbial Reduction on Spacecraft Components. Aerospace Conference, 2007 IEEE; 2007.
  86. Satomi M, Vogel BF, Venkateswaran K, Gram L. Description of Shewanella glacialipiscicola sp. nov. and Shewanella algidipiscicola sp. nov., isolated from marine fish of the Danish Baltic Sea, and proposal that Shewanella affinis is a later heterotypic synonym of Shewanella colwelliana. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2007;57(2):347-52.
  87. Osman S, Moissl C, Hosoya N, Briegel A, Mayilraj S, Satomi M, et al. Tetrasphaera remsis sp. nov., isolated from the Regenerative Enclosed Life Support Module Simulator (REMS) air system. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2007;57(Pt 12):2749-53.
  88. Moores JE, Smith PH, Tanner R, Schuerger AC, Venkateswaran K. The shielding effect of small-scale Martian surface geometry on ultraviolet lux. Icarus. 2007;192:417-33.
  89. Moissl C, Osman S, La Duc MT, Dekas A, Brodie E, DeSantis T, et al. Molecular bacterial community analysis of clean rooms where spacecraft are assembled. FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2007;61(3):509-21.
  90. Moissl C, Hosoya N, Bruckner J, Stuecker T, Roman M, Venkateswaran K. Molecular microbial community structure of the Regenerative Enclosed Life Support Module Simulator air system. Int J Astrobiol. 2007;6(2):131-45.
  91. La Duc MT, Stucker T, Venkateswaran K. Molecular bacterial diversity and bioburden of commercial airliner cabin air. Can J Microbiol. 2007;53:1259-71.
  92. La Duc MT, Dekas A, Osman S, Moissl C, Newcombe D, Venkateswaran K. Isolation and Characterization of Bacteria Capable of Tolerating the Extreme Conditions of Clean Room Environments. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2007;73(8):2600-11.
  93. La Duc MT, Benardini JT, Lubarsky M, Kempf MJ, Newcombe DA, Venkateswaran K. Microbial characterization of an Indian Ocean hydrothermal vent plume. Astrobiology. 2007;7(2):416-31.
  94. Gioia J, Yerrapragada S, Qin X, Jiang H, Igboeli OC, Muzny D, et al. Paradoxical DNA repair and peroxide resistance gene conservation in Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032. PLoS One. 2007;2(9):e928.
  95. Duc MT, Dekas A, Osman S, Moissl C, Newcombe D, Venkateswaran K. Isolation and characterization of bacteria capable of tolerating the extreme conditions of clean room environments. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2007;73.
  96. Bruckner JC, Venkateswaran K. Overview of methodologies to sample and assess microbial burden in low biomass environments. Jap J Food Microbiol. 2007;24(2):61-70.
  97. Schuerger AC, Richards JT, Newcombe DA, Venkateswaran K. Rapid inactivation of seven Bacillus spp. under simulated Mars UV irradiation. Icarus. 2006;181(1):52-62.
  98. Satomi M, Vogel BF, Gram L, Venkateswaran K. Shewanella hafniensis sp. nov. and Shewanella morhuae sp. nov., isolated from marine fish of the Baltic Sea. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2006;56(1):243-9.
  99. Satomi M, La Duc MT, Venkateswaran K. Bacillus safensis sp. nov., isolated from spacecraft and assembly-facility surfaces. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2006;56(Pt 8):1735-40.
  100. Russell E, Newcombe DA, Spry A, Wainwright N, Venkateswaran K, editors. Characterization of microbes isolated from the Mars Express Orbiter and its assembly environments. ASM-Extremophiles; 2006; Virginia, USA: ASM.
  101. Pillai SD, Venkateswaran K, Cepeda M, Soni K, Mittasch S, Maxim J, et al., editors. Electron beam (10 MeV) irradiation to decontaminate spacecraft components for planetary protection. Aerospace Conference, 2006 IEEE; 2006.
  102. Osman S, Satomi M, Venkateswaran K. Paenibacillus pasadenensis sp. nov. and Paenibacillus barengoltzii sp. nov., isolated from a spacecraft assembly facility. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2006;56(Pt 7):1509-14.
  103. Gatson JW, Benz BF, Chandrasekaran C, Satomi M, Venkateswaran K, Hart ME. Bacillus tequilensis sp. nov., isolated from a 2000-year-old Mexican shaft-tomb, is closely related to Bacillus subtilis. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2006;56(7):1475-84.
  104. Dekas AE, Moissl C, Osman S, La Duc MT, Newcombe Da, Venkateswaran K, editors. The Spacecraft Assembly Facility: A Niche for Clean Room Extremophiles. 106th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology; 2006; Orlando, FL: American Society for Microbiology, Washingto D.C.
  105. Behar A, Matthews J, Venkateswaran K, Bruckner J, Jonsson J. A deep sea hydrothermal vent bio-sampler for large volume in-situ filtration of hydrothermal vent fluids. Cah Biol Mar. 2006;47:443-7.
  106. Stuecker TN, D.A. Newcombe, E. Murdock, R. Sumner, and K. Venkateswaran editor Characterization of the VBNC state of two opportunistic pathogens isolated from ISS drinking water: Implications for biocide treatment and bioburden detection. 34th International Conference on Environmental Systems; 2005; July, 2005, Rome, Italy: SAE Technical paper series.
  107. Osman S, Stuecker T, Newcombe D, Venkateswaran K. Microbial burden and community profiles of the Genesis curation laboratory. In: Microbiology ASf, editor. 105th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology; Atlanta, GA.2005.
  108. Newcombe DA, Schuerger AC, Benardini JN, Dickinson D, Tanner R, Venkateswaran K. Survival of spacecraft-associated microorganisms under simulated martian UV irradiation. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2005;71(12):8147-56.
  109. Kern R, Kazarians G, Beaudet RA, Venkateswaran K, Chen F. Rapid enzyme-based microbial burden assays: The case for certifying total adenosine triphosphate assay for use on spacecraft hardware. JPL D-30970. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA; 2005.
  110. Kempf MJ, Chen F, Kern R, Venkateswaran K. Recurrent isolation of hydrogen peroxide-resistant spores of Bacillus pumilus from a spacecraft assembly facility. Astrobiology. 2005;5(3):391-405.
  111. Bruckner JC, Yalamanchili RC, Fields R, Sumner R, Venkateswaran K, editors. Systematic sampling and processing of nucleic acids for low biomass samples. 105th General meeting of the American Society of Microbiology; 2005; Atlanta, GA: American Society of Microbiology.
  112. Benardini J, Ballinger J, Crawford R, Roman M, Sumner R, Venkateswaran K, editors. 34th International Conference on Environmental Systems, International Space Station Internal Thermal Coolant System: An initial assessment of the microbial communities within fluids from ground support and flight hardware; 2005; July, 2005, Rome, Italy: SAE Technical paper series.
  113. Venkateswaran K, Chung S, Allton J, Kern R. Evaluation of various cleaning methods to remove Bacillus spores from spacecraft hardware materials. Astrobiology. 2004;4:377-90.
  114. Srivaths PR, Rozans MK, Kelly E, Jr., Venkateswaran L. Bacillus cereus central line infection in an immunocompetent child with hemophilia. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2004;26(3):194-6.
  115. Link L, Sawyer J, Venkateswaran K, Nicholson W. Extreme spore UV resistance of Bacillus pumilus isolates obtained from an ultraclean spacecraft assembly facility. Microb Ecol. 2004;47:159-63.
  116. La Duc MT, Satomi M, Venkateswaran K. Bacillus odysseyi sp. nov., a round-spore-forming bacillus isolated from the Mars Odyssey spacecraft. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2004;54:195-201.
  117. La Duc MT, Satomi M, Agata N, Venkateswaran K. gyrB as a phylogenetic discriminator for members of the Bacillus anthracis–cereus–thuringiensis group. J Microbiol Meth. 2004;56(3):383-94.
  118. La Duc MT, Satomi M, Agata N, Venkateswaran K. gyrB as a phylogenetic discriminator for members of the Bacillus anthracis-cereus-thuringiensis group. J Microbiol Meth. 2004;56(3):383-94.
  119. La Duc MT, Pierson DL, Venkateswaran K. Evidence of pathogenic microbes in the International Space Station drinking water: Reason for concern? Habitation. 2004;10:39-48.
  120. La Duc MT, Kern RG, Venkateswaran K. Microbial monitoring of spacecraft and associated environments. Microb Ecol. 2004;47:150-8.
  121. Duc MT, Satomi M, Agata N, Venkateswaran K. gyrB as a phylogenetic discriminator for members of the Bacillus anthracis-cereus-thuringiensis group. J Microbiol Methods. 2004;56.
  122. Dickinson DN, La Duc MT, Satomi M, Winefordner JD, Powell DH, Venkateswaran K. MALDI-TOFMS compared with other polyphasic taxonomy approaches for the identification and classification of Bacillus pumilus spores. J Microbiol Meth. 2004;58(1):1-12.
  123. Dickinson DN, La Duc MT, Haskins WE, Gornushkin I, Winefordner JD, Powell DH, et al. Species differentiation of a diverse suite of Bacillus spores by mass spectrometry-based protein profiling. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2004;70(1):475-82.
  124. Venkateswaran K, Kempf M, Chen F, Satomi M, Nicholson W, Kern R. Bacillus nealsonii sp. nov., isolated from a spacecraft-assembly facility, whose spores are γ-radiation resistant. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2003;53(1):165-72.
  125. Venkateswaran K, Hattori N, La Duc MT, Kern R. ATP as a biomarker of viable microorganisms in clean-room facilities. J Microbiol Meth. 2003;52(3):367-77.
  126. Liu Y, Zhou J, Omelchenko MV, Beliaev AS, Venkateswaran A, Stair J, et al. Transcriptome dynamics of Deinococcus radiodurans recovering from ionizing radiation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003;100(7):4191-6.
  127. La Duc MT, Sumner R, Pierson DL, Venkateswaran K, editors. Characterization and monitoring of microbes in the International Space Station drinking water. Proceedings form the 33rd International Conference on Environmental Systems; 2003; Vancouver, Canada.
  128. La Duc MT, Nicholson W, Kern R, Venkateswaran K. Microbial characterization of the Mars Odyssey spacecraft and its encapsulation facility. Environ Microbiol. 2003;5(10):977-85.
  129. Benardini JN, Sawyer J, Venkateswaran K, Nicholson WL. Spore UV and acceleration resistance of endolithic Bacillus pumilus and Bacillus subtilis isolates obtained from Sonoran desert basalt: Implications for lithopanspermia. Astrobiology. 2003;3(4):709-17.
  130. Venkateswaran K, Satomi M, Chung S, Kern R, Koukol R, Basic C, et al. Molecular Microbial Diversity of a Spacecraft Assembly Facility. Syst Appl Microbiol. 2001;24(2):311-20.
  131. Chung S, Venkateswaran K, Echeverria C, La Duc M, Schubert W, Kazarians G, et al., editors. Microbial Populations in Spacecraft Assembly Facilities as Determined by LAL Assay. 101st General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology; 2001; Orlando, FL: American Society for Microbiology.
  132. Vogel BF, Venkateswaran K, Christensen H, Falsen E, Christiansen G, Gram L. Polyphasic taxonomic approach in the description of Alishewanella fetalis gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from a human foetus. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2000;50 Pt 3:1133-42.
  133. Venkateswaran K, Vu A, Musick M, Echeverria C, Chung S, Satomi M, et al. Phylogenetic characterization and description of novel heat-tolerant Bacillus species isolated from spacecraft assembly facility. Proceedings from the 30th International Conference on Environmental Systems, July, 2000, Toulouse, France. Society of Automotive Engineers Technical paper series #00ICES-129. 2000.
  134. Venkateswaran K, Dohmoto N. Pseudoalteromonas peptidolytica sp. nov., a novel marine mussel-thread- degrading bacterium isolated from the Sea of Japan. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2000;50 Pt 2:565-74.
  135. Yamada S, Ohashi E, Agata N, Venkateswaran K. Cloning and nucleotide sequence analysis of gyrB of Bacillus cereus, B. thuringiensis, B. mycoides, and B. anthracis and their application to the detection of B. cereus in rice. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1999;65(4):1483-90.
  136. Venkateswaran K, Moser DP, Dollhopf ME, Lies DP, Saffarini DA, MacGregor BJ, et al. Polyphasic taxonomy of the genus Shewanella and description of Shewanella oneidensis sp. nov. Int J Syst Bacteriol. 1999;49:705-24.
  137. Venkateswaran K, Dollhopf ME, Aller R, Stackebrandt E, Nealson KH. Shewanella amazonensis sp. nov., a novel metal-reducing facultative anaerobe from Amazonian shelf muds. Int J Syst Bacteriol. 1998;48 Pt 3:965-72.
  138. Venkateswaran K, Dohmoto N, Harayama S. Cloning and nucleotide sequence of the gyrB gene of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and its application in detection of this pathogen in shrimp. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1998;64(2):681-7.
  139. Venkateswaran K, Kamijoh Y, Ohashi E, Nakanishi H. A simple filtration technique to detect enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 and its toxins in beef by multiplex PCR. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1997;63(10):4127-31.
  140. Venkateswaran K, Murakoshi A, Satake M. Comparison of commercially available kits with standard methods for the detection of coliforms and Escherichia coli in foods. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1996;62(7):2236-43.
  141. Venkateswaran K, Kurusu T, Satake M, Shinoda S. Comparison of a fluorogenic assay with a conventional method for rapid detection of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in seafoods. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1996;62(9):3516-20.
  142. Venkateswaran K, Kiiyukia C, Nakanishi K, Nakano H, Matsuda O, Hashimoto H. The role of sinking particles in the overwintering process of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in a marine-environment. FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 1990;73(2):159-66.
Dr. Kasthuri Venkateswaran
Address: 
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA 91109
Phone: 818.393.1481
Fax Number: 818.393.4176
Email: 
kjvenkat@jpl.nasa.gov