The influence of microgravity on Euglena gracilis as studied on Shenzhou 8
Nasir A, Strauch S, Becker I, Sperling A, Schuster M, Richter P, Weißkopf M, Ntefidou M, Daiker V, An YA, Li XY, Liu YD, Lebert M (2014)
Publication Status: Published
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2014
Journal
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
Book Volume: 16
Pages Range: 113-119
DOI: 10.1111/plb.12067
Abstract
The German Aerospace Center (DLR) enabled German participation in the joint space campaign on the unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft in November 2011. In this report, the effect of microgravity on Euglena gracilis cells is described. Custom-made dual compartment cell fixation units (containing cells in one chamber and fixative - RNA lysis buffer - in another one) were enclosed in a small container and placed in the Simbox incubator, which is an experiment support system. Cells were fixed by injecting them with fixative at different time intervals. In addition to stationary experiment slots, Simbox provides a 1g reference centrifuge. Cell fixation units were mounted in microgravity and 1g reference positions of Simbox. Two Simbox incubators were used, one for space flight and the other as ground reference. Cells were fixed soon after launch and shortly before return of the spaceship. Due to technical problems, only early in-flight samples (about 40min after launch microgravity and corresponding 1g reference) were fully mixed with fixative, therefore only data from those samples are presented. Transcription of several genes involved in signal transduction, oxidative stress defence, cell cycle regulation and heat shock responses was investigated with quantitative PCR. The data indicate that Euglena cells suffer stress upon short-term exposure to microgravity; various stress-induced genes were up-regulated. Of 32 tested genes, 18 were up-regulated, one down-regulated and the rest remained unaltered. These findings are in a good agreement with results from other research groups using other organisms.
Authors with CRIS profile
Adeel Nasir
Lehrstuhl für Zellbiologie
Sebastian Strauch
Lehrstuhl für Zellbiologie
Ina Becker
Lehrstuhl für Zellbiologie
Anna Sperling
Lehrstuhl für Zellbiologie
Martin Schuster
Lehrstuhl für Zellbiologie
Peter Richter
Lehrstuhl für Zellbiologie
Matthias Weißkopf
Lehrstuhl für Entwicklungsbiologie (Ebio)
Maria Ntefidou
Lehrstuhl für Zellbiologie
Viktor Daiker
Lehrstuhl für Zellbiologie
Michael Lebert
Lehrstuhl für Zellbiologie
Involved external institutions
China (CN)How to cite
APA:
Nasir, A., Strauch, S., Becker, I., Sperling, A., Schuster, M., Richter, P.,... Lebert, M. (2014). The influence of microgravity on Euglena gracilis as studied on Shenzhou 8. Plant Biology, 16, 113-119. https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.12067
MLA:
Nasir, Adeel, et al. "The influence of microgravity on Euglena gracilis as studied on Shenzhou 8." Plant Biology 16 (2014): 113-119.
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