The Rodent Research-3 (RR-3) mission was sponsored by the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Co. and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space to study the effectiveness of a potential countermeasure for the loss of muscle and bone mass that occurs during spaceflight. Twenty BALB/c 18-weeks old female mice (ten controls and ten treated) were flown to the ISS and housed in the Rodent Habitat for 39-42 days. Twenty mice of similar age sex and strain were used for ground controls housed in identical hardware and matching ISS environmental conditions. Basal controls were housed in standard vivarium cages. Spaceflight ground controls and basal groups had blood collected then were euthanized had one hind limb removed and finally whole carcasses were stored at -80 C until dissection. All mice in this data set received only the control/sham injection. Microdissection of retinae from previously frozen eyes and RNA isolation were performed in the laboratory of Dr. Xiao Mao at Loma Linda University.

Presented here is the environmental microbiome study of the International Space Station surfaces. The environmental samples were collected with the polyester wipes from eight different locations in the ISS during two consecutive sampling sessions (three months apart). The specific objective was to unveil the pool of genes for each location during two separate sessions to learn of functional and metabolic diversity of microorganisms in the ISS. The International Space Station (ISS) as a closed built environment has its own environmental microbiome which is shaped by microgravity, radiation, and limited human presence. The microbial diversity associated with ISS environmental surfaces was investigated during this study. Polyester wipes and contact slides were used for sampling of eight various surface locations on the ISS at different time periods. The samples were retrieved and analyzed immediately upon the return to the Earth (via Soyuz TMA-14M or Dragon capsule from SpaceX). After surface sample collection, contact slides containing nutrient media for the growth of bacteria and fungi were incubated at 25C. The polyester wipes were processed to measure microbial burden (R2A, Blood Agar, and Potato Dextrose Agar) and recover cultivable bacteria as well as fungi. Subsequently, viable microbial burden was assessed using Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) assay, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods after propidium monoazide (PMA) treatment. The 16S-tag and metagenome analyses were used to elucidate viable microbial diversity. The cultivable bacterial population yield from the polyester wipes was very high (5 to 7-logs) when compared with the contact slides (10^2 to 10^3 CFU/m2). The PMA-qPCR analysis showed considerable variation of viable bacterial population (10^5 to 10^9 16S rDNA gene copies/m2) among locations sampled. Unlike contact slides, polyester wipes cover much larger sample surface (~1 m2) and produce much more reliable results of the microbial diversity of the ISS covering both cultivable and non-cultivable species. The cultivable, total, and viable microbial diversity was determined utilizing state-of-the art molecular techniques. The implementation of the PMA assay before DNA extraction allowed distinguishing viable microorganisms, which is crucial for determining their role to the crew health, the ISS maintenance and the general knowledge of the closed environmentally controlled built systems.

NASA s Rodent Research (RR) project is playing a critical role in advancing biomedical research on the physiological effects of space environments. Due to the limited resources for conducting biological experiments aboard the International Space Station (ISS) it is imperative to use crew time efficiently while maximizing high-quality science return. NASA s GeneLab project has as its primary objectives to 1) further increase the value of these experiments using a multi-omics systems biology-based approach and 2) disseminate these data without restrictions to the scientific community. The current investigation assessed viability of RNA DNA and protein extracted from archived RR-1 tissue samples for epigenomic transcriptomic and proteomic assays. During the first RR spaceflight experiment a variety of tissue types were harvested from subjects snap-frozen or RNAlater-preserved and then stored at least a year at -80C after return to Earth. They were then prioritized for this investigation based on likelihood of significant scientific value for spaceflight research. All tissues were made available to GeneLab through the bio-specimen sharing program managed by the Ames Life Science Data Archive and included mouse adrenal glands quadriceps gastrocnemius tibialis anterior extensor digitorum longus soleus eye and kidney. We report here protocols for and results of these tissue extractions and thus the feasibility and value of these kinds of omics analyses. In addition to providing additional opportunities for investigation of spaceflight effects on the mouse transcriptome and proteome in new kinds of tissues our results may also be of value to program managers for the prioritization of ISS crew time for rodent research activities.

NASA s Rodent Research (RR) project is playing a critical role in advancing biomedical research on the physiological effects of space environments. Due to the limited resources for conducting biological experiments aboard the International Space Station (ISS) it is imperative to use crew time efficiently while maximizing high-quality science return. NASA s GeneLab project has as its primary objectives to 1) further increase the value of these experiments using a multi-omics systems biology-based approach and 2) disseminate these data without restrictions to the scientific community. The current investigation assessed viability of RNA DNA and protein extracted from archived RR-1 tissue samples for epigenomic transcriptomic and proteomic assays. During the first RR spaceflight experiment a variety of tissue types were harvested from subjects snap-frozen or RNAlater-preserved and then stored at least a year at -80C after return to Earth. They were then prioritized for this investigation based on likelihood of significant scientific value for spaceflight research. All tissues were made available to GeneLab through the bio-specimen sharing program managed by the Ames Life Science Data Archive and included mouse adrenal glands quadriceps gastrocnemius tibialis anterior extensor digitorum longus soleus eye and kidney. We report here protocols for and results of these tissue extractions and thus the feasibility and value of these kinds of omics analyses. In addition to providing additional opportunities for investigation of spaceflight effects on the mouse transcriptome and proteome in new kinds of tissues our results may also be of value to program managers for the prioritization of ISS crew time for rodent research activities.

NASA s Rodent Research (RR) project is playing a critical role in advancing biomedical research on the physiological effects of space environments. Due to the limited resources for conducting biological experiments aboard the International Space Station (ISS) it is imperative to use crew time efficiently while maximizing high-quality science return. NASA s GeneLab project has as its primary objectives to 1) further increase the value of these experiments using a multi-omics systems biology-based approach and 2) disseminate these data without restrictions to the scientific community. The current investigation assessed viability of RNA DNA and protein extracted from archived RR-1 tissue samples for epigenomic transcriptomic and proteomic assays. During the first RR spaceflight experiment a variety of tissue types were harvested from subjects snap-frozen or RNAlater-preserved and then stored at least a year at -80C after return to Earth. They were then prioritized for this investigation based on likelihood of significant scientific value for spaceflight research. All tissues were made available to GeneLab through the bio-specimen sharing program managed by the Ames Life Science Data Archive and included mouse adrenal glands quadriceps gastrocnemius tibialis anterior extensor digitorum longus soleus eye and kidney. We report here protocols for and results of these tissue extractions and thus the feasibility and value of these kinds of omics analyses. In addition to providing additional opportunities for investigation of spaceflight effects on the mouse transcriptome and proteome in new kinds of tissues our results may also be of value to program managers for the prioritization of ISS crew time for rodent research activities.

Space environment is suspected to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) and induce oxidative stress in plants however little is known about the gene expression of ROS gene network in plants grown in long-term space flight. RNA-Seq was used to define the large-scale gene expression profiles of Mizuna harvested after 27 days cultivation in the international space station to understand the molecular response and adaptation to space environment.Results: Total reads of transcripts from the Mizuna grown in the international space station as well as on the ground by RNA-Seq using next generation sequencing technology showed 8,258 and 14,170 transcripts up- and down-regulated in the space-grown Mizuna respectively when compared with those from the ground-grown Mizuna. A total of 20 in 32 ROS oxidative marker genes were up-regulated including high expression of 4 hallmarks and preferentially expressed gene associated with ROS-scavenging genes was thioredoxin glutaredoxin and alternative oxidase genes. In the transcription factors of ROS gene network MEKK1-MKK4-MPK3 OXI1-MKK4-MPK3 and OXI1-MPK3 of MAP cascades induction of WRKY22 by MEKK1-MKK4-MPK3 cascade induction of WRKY25 and repression of ZAT7 by Zat12 were suggested. RbohD and RbohF genes were up-regulated preferentially in NADPH oxidase genes which produce ROS.Conclusions: Our large-scale transcriptome analysis demonstrated that the space environment induced oxidative stress and ROS gene network was activated in the space-grown Mizuna some of which were common genes up-regulated by abiotic and biotic stress and were preferentially up-regulated genes by the space environment even though Mizuna grew in the space as well as on the ground showing that plants could acclimate to the space environment by reprograming the expression of ROS gene network.

Physical forces greatly influence the growth and function of an organism. Altered gravity can perturb normal development and induce corresponding changes in gene expression. Understanding this relationship between the physical and biological realms is important for NASA s space travel goals. We use combined RNA-Seq and qRT-PCR to profile changes in early Drosophila melanogaster pupae exposed to chronic hypergravity (3 g three times Earth s gravity) to highlight gravity-dependent pathways and gene products. Robust transcriptional response was evident among the pupae developed in a hypergravity environment compared to control. 1,513 genes showed significantly (p < 0.05) altered gene expression in the 3 g samples. These findings were supported with qRT-PCR data. Major biological processes affected include ion transport redox homeostasis immune and humoral stress response proteolysis and cuticle development.

Spaceflight is known to affect immune cell populations. In particular splenic B-cell numbers decrease during spaceflight and in ground-based physiological models. Although antibody isotype changes have been assessed during and after spaceflight an extensive characterization of the impact of spaceflight on antibody composition has not been conducted in mice. Next Generation Sequencing and bioinformatic tools are now available to assess antibody repertoires. We can now identify immunoglobulin gene- segment usage junctional regions and modifications that contribute to specificity and diversity. Due to limitations on the International Space Station alternate sample collection and storage methods must be employed. Our group compared Illumina MiSeq xc3 x82 xc2 xae sequencing data from multiple sample preparation methods in normal C57Bl/6J mice to validate that sample preparation and storage would not bias the outcome of antibody repertoire characterization. In this report we also compared sequencing techniques and a bioinformatic workflow on the data output when we assessed the IgH and Ig xc3 x8e xc2 xba variable gene usage. Our bioinformatic workflow has been optimized for Illumina HiSeq xc3 x82 xc2 xae and MiSeq xc3 x82 xc2 xae datasets and is designed specifically to reduce bias capture the most information from Ig sequences and produce a data set that provides other data mining options.

Here in this study we systematically examined the patterns of DNA methylation and hydroxy-methylation with its functional implications in gene regulation for the cultured TK6 lymphoblastoid cells upon exposure to micro-gravity conditions. The results reported here indicate that simulated microgravity alters methylation patterns in a limited way and subsequently the expression of genes involved in stress response like ATF3 FBXO17 MAP3K13 and VCL in TK6 cells. Overall design: Examination of RNA-seq with 2 replicates each for 1 cell type

Efficient generation of cardiomyocytes from human pluripotent stem cells is critical for their regenerative applications. Microgravity and 3D culture can profoundly modulate cell proliferation and survival. Here we engineered microscale progenitor cardiac spheres from human pluripotent stem cells and exposed the spheres to simulated microgravity using a random positioning machine for 3 days during their differentiation to cardiomyocytes. Methods: RNA-seq libraries were prepared using the Illumina TruSeq RNA kit and the TrueSeq method was employed for mRNA enrichment. The libraries were quantified and samples were multiplexed in each lane of the flowcell. Cluster generation was performed and then sequenced on the Illumina HiSeq1000 system. Reads were mapped on the Human Genome Reference and normalized expression table was generated. Results: Among differentially expressed genes 53 of them were up-regulated and 75 were down-regulated. Conclusions: Data demonstrate increased expression of genes associated with growth development and pro-survival in cardiac progenitors cultured under simulated microgravity compared with those cultured under standard gravity. RNA-sequencing analysis was performed to compare global gene expression profiles of cells at differentiation day 8 under simulated microgravity vs. standard gravity.