These early investigations were designed to be launched on an unmanned spacecraft (Progress)
well in advance of processing aboard the International Space Station and remain stable for
months before return to Earth and analysis. The results obtained demonstrate the robustness
of studies utilizing S. cerevisiae as a model for eukaryotic cell studies. These studies
demonstrate that the yeast gene deletion series is a powerful tool to assess the effects of
microgravity and other environmental factors on cellular level responses, which is likely to be
relevant to more complex organisms including humans.
PUBLICATION(S)
Coleman CB, Allen PL, Rupert M, et al. Novel Sfp1 transcriptional regulation of Saccharomyces
cerevisiae gene expression changes during spaceflight. Astrobiology. 2008;8(6):1071-1078. doi:
10.1089/ast.2007.0211.
Johanson K, Allen PL, Gonzalez-Villaobos RA, et al. Haploid deletion strains of Saccharomyces
cerevisiae that determine survival during spaceflight. Acta Astronautica. 2007;60(4-7):460-471.
doi: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2006.09.011.
This investigation is complete and all results are published.