The Human Genome Project changed everything—or did it? Although un-deniably a scientific tour de force, the Genome Project’s outcome posed more questions than it answered, and molecular biology has been working assiduously ever since to answer those questions.
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http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=6853495
Mesodinium rubrum is a globally distributed nontoxic ciliate that is known to produce intense red-colored blooms using enslaved chloroplasts from its algal prey. Although frequent enough to have been observed by Darwin, blooms of M. rubrum are notoriously difficult to quantify because M. rubrum can aggregate into massive clouds of rusty-red water in a very short time due to its high growth rates and rapid swimming behavior and can disaggregate just as quickly by vertical or horizontal dispersion. A September 2012 hyperspectral image from the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean sensor aboard the International Space Station captured a dense red tide of M. rubrum (10(6) cells per liter) in surface waters of western Long Island Sound. Genetic data confirmed the identity of the chloroplast as a cryptophyte that was actively photosynthesizing. Microscopy indicated extremely high abundance of its yellow fluorescing signature pigment phycoerythrin. Spectral absorption and fluorescence features were related to ancillary photosynthetic pigments unique to this organism that cannot be observed with traditional satellites. Cell abundance was estimated at a resolution of 100 m using an algorithm based on the distinctive yellow fluorescence of phycoerythrin. Future development of hyperspectral satellites will allow for better enumeration of bloom-forming coastal plankton, the associated physical mechanisms, and contributions to marine productivity.
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26627232
Dust was collected over a period of several weeks in 2007 from HEPA filters in the U.S. Laboratory Module of the International Space Station (ISS). The dust was returned on the Space Shuttle Atlantis, mixed, sieved and the DNA was extracted. Using a DNA-based method called mold-specific quantitative PCR (MSQPCR), 39 molds were measured in the dust. Potential opportunistic pathogens Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus niger and potential moderate toxin producers Penicillium chrysogenum and Penicillium brevicompactum were noteworthy. No cells of the potential opportunistic pathogens Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus terreus, Fusarium solani or Candida albicans were detected.
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http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0923250808000892
The plausibility that life was imported to Earth from elsewhere can be tested by subjecting life-forms to space travel. Ultraviolet light is the major liability in short-term exposures (Horneck et al., 2001 ), and plant seeds, tardigrades, and lichens-but not microorganisms and their spores-are candidates for long-term survival (Anikeeva et al., 1990 ; Sancho et al., 2007 ; Jonsson et al., 2008 ; de la Torre et al., 2010 ). In the present study, plant seeds germinated after 1.5 years of exposure to solar UV, solar and galactic cosmic radiation, temperature fluctuations, and space vacuum outside the International Space Station. Of the 2100 exposed wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) seeds, 23% produced viable plants after return to Earth. Survival was lower in the Arabidopsis Wassilewskija ecotype and in mutants (tt4-8 and fah1-2) lacking UV screens. The highest survival occurred in tobacco (44%). Germination was delayed in seeds shielded from solar light, yet full survival was attained, which indicates that longer space travel would be possible for seeds embedded in an opaque matrix. We conclude that a naked, seed-like entity could have survived exposure to solar UV radiation during a hypothetical transfer from Mars to Earth. Chemical samples of seed flavonoid UV screens were degraded by UV, but their overall capacity to absorb UV was retained. Naked DNA encoding the nptII gene (kanamycin resistance) was also degraded by UV. A fragment, however, was detected by the polymerase chain reaction, and the gene survived in space when protected from UV. Even if seeds do not survive, components (e.g., their DNA) might survive transfer over cosmic distances.
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22680697
MIZ1 is encoded by a gene essential for root hydrotropism in Arabidopsis. To characterize the property of MIZ1, we used transgenic plants expressing GFP-tagged MIZ1 (MIZ1-GFP) and mutant MIZ1 (MIZ1(G235E)-GFP) in a miz1-1 mutant. Although both chimeric genes were transcribed, the translational products of MIZ1(G235E)-GFP did not accumulate in roots. Moreover, MIZ1-GFP complemented the mutant phenotype but not MIZ1(G235E)-GFP. The signal corresponding to MIZ1-GFP was detected at high levels in cortical cells and lateral root cap cells and accumulated in compartments in cortical cells. MIZ1-GFP was fractionated into a soluble protein fraction and an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane fraction, where it was bound to the surface of the ER membrane at the cytosolic side.
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22285304
The development of fast and easy on-site molecular detection and quantification methods for hazardous microbes on solid surfaces is desirable for several applications where specialised laboratory facilities are absent. The quantification of bacterial contamination necessitates the assessment of the efficiency of the used methodology as a whole, including the preceding steps of sampling and sample processing. We used quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qrtPCR) for Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus to measure the recovery of DNA from defined numbers of bacterial cells that were subjected to three different DNA extraction methods: the QIAamp DNA Mini Kit, Reischl et al.'s method and FTA Elute. FTA Elute significantly showed the highest median DNA extraction efficiency of 76.9% for E. coli and 108.9% for S. aureus. The Reischl et al. method and QIAamp DNA Mini Kit inhibited the E. coli qrtPCR assay with a 10-fold decrease of detectable DNA. None of the methods inhibited the S. aureus qrtPCR assay. The FTA Elute applicability was demonstrated with swab samples taken from the International Space Station (ISS) interior. Overall, the FTA Elute method was found to be the most suitable to selected criteria in terms of rapidity, easiness of use, DNA extraction efficiency, toxicity, and transport and storage conditions.
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21311936
During space flight, severe losses of bone mass are observed. Both bone formation and resorption are probably involved, but their relative importance remains unclear. The purpose of this research is to understand the role of osteoclasts and their precursors in microgravity-induced bone loss. Three experiments on isolated osteoclasts (OCs) and on their precursors, OSTEO, OCLAST, and PITS, were launched in the FOTON-M3 mission. The OSTEO experiment was conducted for 10 d in microgravity within bioreactors with a perfusion system, where the differentiation of precursors, cultured on a synthetic 3-dimensional bonelike biomaterial, skelite, toward mature OCs was assessed. In OCLAST and in PITS experiments, differentiated OCs were cultured on devitalized bovine bone slices for 4 d in microgravity. All of the experiments were replicated on ground in the same bioreactors, and OCLAST also had an inflight centrifuge as a control. Gene expression in microgravity, compared with ground controls, demonstrated a severalfold increase in genes involved in osteoclast maturation and activity. Increased bone resorption, proved by an increased amount of collagen telopeptides released VS ground and centrifuge control, was also found. These results indicate for the first time osteoclasts and their precursors as direct targets for microgravity and mechanical forces.
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http://ovidsp.ovid.com/ovidweb.cgi?T=JS&CSC=Y&NEWS=N&PAGE=fulltext&D=medl&AN=19329761
http://sfxhosted.exlibrisgroup.com/mayo?sid=OVID:medline&id=pmid:19329761&id=doi:10.1096%2Ffj.08-127951&issn=0892-6638&isbn=&volume=23&issue=8&spage=2549&pages=2549-54&date=2009&title=FASEB+Journal&atitle=Microgravity+during+spaceflight+directly+affects+in+vitro+osteoclastogenesis+and+bone+resorption.&aulast=Tamma&pid=%3Cauthor%3ETamma+R%3C%2Fauthor%3E&%3CAN%3E19329761%3C%2FAN%3E
Barley seeds were exposed to outer space for 13 months in a vented metal container without a climate control system to assess the risk of physiological and genetic mutation during long-term storage in space. The space-stored seeds (S0 generation), with an 82% germination rate in 50 seeds, lost about 20% of their weight after the exposure. The germinated seeds showed normal growth, heading, and ripening. The harvested seeds (S1 generation) also germinated and reproduced (S2 generation) as did the ground-stored seeds. The culm length, ear length, number of seed, grain weight, and fertility of the plants from the space-stored seeds were not significantly different from those of the ground-stored seeds in each of the S0 and S1 generation. Furthermore, the S1 and S2 space-stored seeds respectively showed similar β-glucan content to those of the ground-stored seeds. Amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis with 16 primer combinations showed no specific fragment that appears or disappears significantly in the DNA isolated from the barley grown from the space-stored seeds. Though these data are derived from nine S0 space-stored seeds in a single exposure experiment, the results demonstrate the preservation of barley seeds in outer space for 13 months without phenotypic or genotypic changes and with healthy and vigorous growth in space.
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http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273117711003541
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latent and replicative gene transcription was analyzed in peripheral blood B-lymphocytes from astronauts who flew on short-duration ( approximately 11 days) Shuttle missions and long-duration ( approximately 180 days) International Space Station (ISS) missions. Latent, immediate-early, and early gene replicative viral transcripts were detected in samples from six astronauts who flew on short-duration Shuttle missions, whereas viral gene transcription was mostly absent in samples from 24 healthy donors. Samples from six astronauts who flew on long-duration ISS missions were characterized by expanded expression of latent, immediate-early, and early gene transcripts and new onset expression of late replicative transcription upon return to Earth. These data indicate that EBV-infected cells are no longer expressing the restricted set of viral genes that characterize latency but are expressing latent and lytic gene transcripts. These data also suggest the possibility of EBV-related complications in future long-duration missions, in particular interplanetary travel.
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21503923
DNA polymerase micro is involved in DNA repair, V(D)J recombination and likely somatic hypermutation of immunoglobulin genes. Our previous studies demonstrated that spaceflight conditions affect immunoglobulin gene expression and somatic hypermutation frequency. Consequently, we questioned whether Polmu expression could also be affected. To address this question, we characterized Polmu of the Iberian ribbed newt Pleurodeles waltl and exposed embryos of that species to spaceflight conditions or to environmental modifications corresponding to those encountered in the International Space Station. We noted a robust expression of Polmu mRNA during early ontogenesis and in the testis, suggesting that Polmu is involved in genomic stability. Full-length Polmu transcripts are 8-9 times more abundant in P. waltl than in humans and mice, thereby providing an explanation for the somatic hypermutation predilection of G and C bases in amphibians. Polmu transcription decreases after 10 days of development in space and radiation seem primarily involved in this down-regulation. However, space radiation, alone or in combination with a perturbation of the circadian rhythm, did not affect Polmu protein levels and did not induce protein oxidation, showing the limited impact of radiation encountered during a 10-day stay in the International Space Station.
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23936065