[
International Worm Meeting,
2003]
The Space Station Biological Research Project (SSBRP) at NASA's Ames Research Center is building an Incubator for the International Space Station (ISS). To test the ability of the Incubator to support a wide spectrum of biospecimens, we are incubating Caenorhabditis elegans, Saccaromyces cerevisae, Arabidopsis thaliana and Drosophila melanogaster in a prototype of the unit, and examining growth and viability of these organisms. The parameters under investigation for C. elegans include the number of offspring, days from egg to egg-laying adult, lifespan, presence of dauers, high frequency of males and overall vigor. We are incubating L4 stage wild-type N2 C. elegans hermaphrodites at 20 degrees C on Nematode Growth Media (NGM) agar plates, seeded with a lawn of E. coli OP50, for 14 days. This information will be used to support the development of an experiment for the first use of the Incubator on the ISS, in which we plan to expose C. elegans, in liquid culture, to the space environment of microgravity and cosmic radiation, for up to 90 days. The capability for chemical fixation, subculturing and freezing timed samples exists, as well as documenting behavior and growth by collecting video data. The first flight of the Incubator is scheduled for 2005.
[
West Coast Worm Meeting,
2004]
To support the study of the effects of microgravity on biological systems, our group is developing and testing an operational scenario that will allow the cultivation of C. elegans on the International Space Station (ISS). Our aim is to provide an experimental framework for use by investigators to conduct peer reviewed C. elegans experiments utilizing the microgravity environment of the ISS. Our protocol will allow investigators to grow multiple generations of worms for up to a 3-month period in space. The worms will be grown in axenic liquid medium in OptiCells TM , and may be sub-cultured up to 3 times on orbit. During sub-culture activities, samples may be collected, preserved, frozen, and later returned to earth for analysis. Additionally, there will be video capability to permit periodic observational analysis of worm behavior on orbit. Data presented are from initial ground based efforts to support this scenario and include characterization of the growth phenotype of C. elegans in the axenic liquid medium in OptiCells TM . Our data show that C. elegans reaches densities of up to 1 x 10 6 worms/ml when grown in the axenic medium in OptiCells TM and cultures may be initiated with as few as 10 worms/ml. Airflow across the OptiCell TM of at least 37 feet per minute is needed to support optimal growth. These results suggest that our culture conditions support the growth of C. elegans as well as, or better than, conventional C. elegans culturing methods.
[
International Worm Meeting,
2003]
An Incubator will be available on the International Space Station with capabilities that are well suited to examine the effects of microgravity and cosmic radiation on C. elegans. The Space Station Biological Research Project (SSBRP) Incubator provides temperature control between 4 and 45 degrees C, and has commandable data, power and video ports to support life science experiments. For the first Incubator flight (slated for launch in 2005) an experiment is planned with C. elegans, to examine growth, development, reproduction and behavior, as compared to ground-based controls. The C. elegans will be incubated in liquid axenic medium 1 in OptiCell (trademark) containers. During the 90 day increment, cultures will be subcultured and videotaped regularly, and live, chemically preserved and frozen samples will be collected. These samples will be analyzed for changes at the genetic and protein level. Ground studies will be presented on baseline growth and behavior of C. elegans in this hardware. Reference: 1 Lu, NC; Goetsch, KM. Carbohydrate requirement of Caenorhabditis elegans and the final development of a chemically defined medium. Nematologica 39(3):303-311, 1993