C. ELEGANS TO ASSESS GENOMIC DAMAGE ON LONG-DURATION FLIGHTS (ELERAD)
Research Area Animal Biology - Vertebrates
Expedition(s) 14
Principal investigator(s) ● David L. Baillie PhD, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British
Columbia, Canada
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
C. Elegans to Assess Genomic Damage on Long-Duration Flights (Elerad) uses the nematode
Caenorhabditis elegans as a biological dosimeter of space radiation. Using specific regions of
the C. elegans genome, this study determines the types of damage induced by space radiation,
studies accumulating doses of radiation, and assesses the rate, and type of mutations. The
study also makes it possible to map the location of genetic rearrangements within worms.
EARTH BENEFITS
Space provides a unique laboratory to study how life and physiologic functions adapt from the
cellular level to that of the entire organism. The results obtained in this set of experiments
demonstrate that the model organism C. elegans can be used to study the effects of altered
gravity and suggest that C. elegans respond to radiation experienced during spaceflight by
altering the expression of genes of interest to development of human countermeasures.
SPACE BENEFITS
As space exploration opens new horizons, it is crucial to be able to provide countermeasures to
the effects of the space environment on the human body. The fact that the biological results
obtained with C. elegans appear to have strong similarities to those obtained in human beings,
suggests that not only does C. elegans prove an invaluable model for understanding the
fundamental biological changes seen during spaceflight, but that it may also be crucial for
understanding those changes associated with human health concerns in space.
RESULTS
The exploration of space and colonization of other planets involves numerous physiological
changes induced by known factors such as microgravity and radiation exposure. Genetic
changes are yet unknown in humans but highly-likely to occur. To accelerate discovery of
genetic changes in novel experimental conditions, C. elegans, a model organism was used.
(Model organisms are non-human species with fully-sequenced genomes that have already
been extensively studied and are able to provide insights that parallel human results.) Elerad
evaluated reproductive organ radiation damage that can be passed on to offspring during a
prolonged period aboard the International Space Station. The eventual goal is the development
of an integrating biological dosimeter for spaceflight.
PUBLICATIONS
Oczypok EA, Etheridge T, Freeman J, et al. Remote automated multi-generational growth and
observation of an animal in low-Earth orbit. Journal of the Royal Society Interface.
2012;9(68):596-9.