CAENORHABDITIS ELEGANS RNAI SPACE EXPERIMENT (CERISE)
Research Area: Animal Biology-Invertebrates
Expedition(s): 20 and 21
Principle Investigator(s): ● Atsushi Higashitani, PhD, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
Caenorhabditis Elegans RNAi Space Experiment (CERISE) evaluates the effect of microgravity on
RNA interference and studies how the space environment effects protein phosphorylation and
signal transduction in the muscle fibers of Caenorhabditis elegans.
EARTH BENEFITS
In addition to the RNAi experiment,
investigators studied the molecular
effect of microgravity on the C. elegans
muscular cells using transcriptome and
proteome analyses. The current results
indicate alterations in muscular,
cytoskeletal, and mitochondrial
proteins of spaceflown C. elegans. This
data could potentially clarify the
molecular mechanism of human
muscle atrophy caused by aging and
unloading.SPACE BENEFITS
The efficiency of RNAi and Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) technologies used in space illustrate
the relative ease with which these important tools can be incorporated into future experiments
to study the molecular mechanisms underpinning the biological alterations induced by
spaceflight. In addition, researchers would like to understand the molecular mechanisms of
spaceflight-induced muscle atrophy in order to eliminate the significant risk on astronaut health
and mission performance from CERISE data.
RESULTS
Comparison of the in-orbit samples to its Ground Control (GC) equivalent showed no
differences. The Gene expression of 228 microRNAs of the 232 analyzed were also unaffected
during the micro-g duration. RNAi applied to a GFP reduced chromosomal gfp expression in
gonad tissue, which was not different from the GC samples. RNAi applied to an rbx-1 also
induced abnormal chromosome segregation in the gonad for the in-orbit samples. Finally, RNAi
applied to lysosomal cathepsins prevented degradation of the muscle-specific α-actin protein in
both micro-g and GC conditions (Etheridge [a] 2011).
ISS021E031956 – Astronaut Jeffrey Williams works on the C.
Elegans RNAi Space Experiment at the Clean Bench Operation
Chamber in the Japanese Experiment Module - Pressurized
Module. JAXA image.