Space omics research in Europe: contributions, geographical distribution and ESA member state funding schemes

18 p.-3 fig.-1 graph. abst.The European research community, via European Space Agency (ESA) spaceflight opportunities, has significantly contributed towards our current understanding of spaceflight biology. Recent molecular biology experiments include “omic” analysis, which provides a holistic and systems level understanding of the mechanisms underlying phenotypic adaptation. Despite vast interest in, and the immense quantity of biological information gained from space omics research, the knowledge of ESA-related space omics works as a collective remains poorly defined due to the recent exponential application of omics approaches in space and the limited search capabilities of pre-existing records. Thus, a review of such contributions is necessary to clarify and promote the development of space omics among ESA and ESA state members. To address this gap, in this review we: i) identified and summarised omics works led by European researchers, ii) geographically described these omics works, and iii) highlighted potential caveats in complex funding scenarios among ESA member states.All listed authors are members of the ESA Space Omics Topical Team, funded by the ESA grant/contract 4000131202/20/NL/PG/pt “Space Omics: Towards an integrated ESA/NASA –omics database for spaceflight and ground facilities experiments” awarded to RH, which was the main funding source for this work. Individual authors also acknowledge support from: the Medical Research Council part of a Skills Development Fellowship [grant number MR/T026014/1] awarded to CSD; the Spanish CAM TALENTO program project 2020-5A_BIO-19724 to MAFR; the Spanish Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Desarrollo Tecnológico Grant RTI2018-099309-B-I00 to FJM, the Swedish Research Council VR grant 2020-04864 to SG and the French Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales grant DAR 2020-4800001004, 2021-4800001117 to ECD. This research was also funded in part by the Wellcome Trust [110182/Z/15/Z] to KS.Peer reviewe

Enhancing European capabilities for application of multi-omics studies in biology and biomedicine space research

Following on from the NASA twins’ study, there has been a tremendous interest in the use of omics techniques in spaceflight. Individual space agencies, NASA’s GeneLab, JAXA's ibSLS, and the ESA-funded Space Omics Topical Team and the International Standards for Space Omics Processing (ISSOP) groups have established several initiatives to support this growth. Here, we present recommendations from the Space Omics Topical Team to promote standard application of space omics in Europe. We focus on four main themes: i) continued participation in and coordination with international omics endeavors, ii) strengthening of the European space omics infrastructure including workforce and facilities, iii) capitalizing on the emerging opportunities in the commercial space sector, and iv) capitalizing on the emerging opportunities in human subjects research

Space omics research in Europe: Contributions, geographical distribution and ESA member state funding schemes

The European research community, via European Space Agency (ESA) spaceflight opportunities, has significantly contributed toward our current understanding of spaceflight biology. Recent molecular biology experiments include “omic” analysis, which provides a holistic and systems level understanding of the mechanisms underlying phenotypic adaptation. Despite vast interest in, and the immense quantity of biological information gained from space omics research, the knowledge of ESA-related space omics works as a collective remains poorly defined due to the recent exponential application of omics approaches in space and the limited search capabilities of pre-existing records. Thus, a review of such contributions is necessary to clarify and promote the development of space omics among ESA and ESA state members. To address this gap, in this review, we i) identified and summarized omics works led by European researchers, ii) geographically described these omics works, and iii) highlighted potential caveats in complex funding scenarios among ESA member states

Gravisensitivity and automorphogenesis of lentil seedling roots grown on board the International Space Station

International audienceThe GRAVI-1 experimentwas brought on board the International Space Station by Discovery (December 2006) and carried out in January 2007 in the European Modular Cultivation System facility. For the first run of this experiment, lentil seedlings were hydrated and grown in microgravity for 15 h and then subjected for 13 h 40 min to centrifugal accelerations ranging from 0.29 _ 1022 g to 0.99 _ 1022 g. During the second run, seedlings were grown either for 30 h 30 min in microgravity (this sample was the control) or for 21 h 30 min and then subjected to centrifugal accelerations ranging from 1.2 _ 1022 g to 2.0 _ 1022 g for 9 h. In both cases, root orientation and root curvature were followed by time-lapse photography. Still images were downlinked in near real time to ground Norwegian User Support and Operations Center during the experiment. The position of the root tip and the root curvature were analyzed as a function of time. It has been shown that in microgravity, the embryonic root curved strongly away from the cotyledons (automorphogenesis) and then straightened out slowly from 17 to 30 h following hydration (autotropism). Because of the autotropic straightening of roots in microgravity, their tip was oriented at an angle close to the optimal angle of curvature (120_–135_) for a period of 2 h during centrifugation. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that lentil roots grown in microgravity before stimulation were more sensitive than roots grown in 1 g. In these conditions, the threshold acceleration perceived by these organs was found to be between 0 and 2.0 _ 1023 g and estimated punctually at 1.4 _ 1025 g by using the hyperbolic model for fitting the experimental data and by assuming that autotropism had no or little impact on the gravitropic response. Gravisensing by statoliths should be possible at such a low level of acceleration because the actomyosin system could provide the necessary work to overcome the activation energy for gravisensing

Microgravity Induces Changes in Microsome-Associated Proteins of Arabidopsis Seedlings Grown on Board the International Space Station

International audienceThe ''GENARA A'' experiment was designed to monitor global changes in the proteome of membranes of Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings subjected to microgravity on board the International Space Station (ISS). For this purpose, 12-day-old seedlings were grown either in space, in the European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) under microgravity or on a 1 g centrifuge, or on the ground. Proteins associated to membranes were selectively extracted from microsomes and identified and quantified through LC-MS-MS using a label-free method. Among the 1484 proteins identified and quantified in the 3 conditions mentioned above, 80 membrane-associated proteins were significantly more abundant in seedlings grown under microgravity in space than under 1 g (space and ground) and 69 were less abundant. Clustering of these proteins according to their predicted function indicates that proteins associated to auxin metabolism and trafficking were depleted in the microsomal fraction in mg space conditions, whereas proteins associated to stress responses, defence and metabolism were more abundant in mg than in 1 g indicating that microgravity is perceived by plants as a stressful environment. These results clearly indicate that a global membrane proteomics approach gives a snapshot of the cell status and its signaling activity in response to microgravity and highlight the major processes affected

Perspectives for plant biology in Space and analogue environments

Advancements in plant Space biology are required for the realization of long-duration exploratoryclass manned missions, where the re-supply of resources from Earth is not feasible for technical and economic constraints. Plants are key organisms in Bioregenerative Life Support Systems (BLSS) for the regeneration of resources (i.e. oxygen production through photosynthesis, water recovery by transpiration, and wastes recycling) and the production of fresh healthy food. Moreover, plants play a role in psychological support for astronauts. The definition of cultivation requirements for the design, realization and successful operation of BLSS must take into account the effects of Space factors on plant growth, development and reproduction. Altered gravitational fields and radiation exposure are the main Space factors inducing changes in gene expression, cell proliferation and differentiation, signaling and physiological processes, with consequences on tissue organization and organogenesis, thus on the whole organisms functioning. In this paper, the main findings of gravityand radiation-related research of the last years are summarized, highlighting the knowledge gaps that is still necessary to fill. A focus on existing facilities as well as requirements for future facilities to achieve fundamental biology goals is reported. Possible future experiments in the short-mediumlong term are proposed to achieve the targets of crewed Space exploration

Perspectives for plant biology in space and analogue environments

Abstract Advancements in plant space biology are required for the realization of human space exploration missions, where the re-supply of resources from Earth is not feasible. Until a few decades ago, space life science was focused on the impact of the space environment on the human body. More recently, the interest in plant space biology has increased because plants are key organisms in Bioregenerative Life Support Systems (BLSS) for the regeneration of resources and fresh food production. Moreover, plants play an important role in psychological support for astronauts. The definition of cultivation requirements for the design, realization, and successful operation of BLSS must consider the effects of space factors on plants. Altered gravitational fields and radiation exposure are the main space factors inducing changes in gene expression, cell proliferation and differentiation, signalling and physiological processes with possible consequences on tissue organization and organogenesis, thus on the whole plant functioning. Interestingly, the changes at the cellular and molecular levels do not always result in organismic or developmental changes. This apparent paradox is a current research challenge. In this paper, the main findings of gravity- and radiation-related research on higher plants are summarized, highlighting the knowledge gaps that are still necessary to fill. Existing experimental facilities to simulate the effect of space factors, as well as requirements for future facilities for possible experiments to achieve fundamental biology goals are considered. Finally, the need for making synergies among disciplines and for establishing global standard operating procedures for analyses and data collection in space experiments is highlighted

Proteins specifically identified in one extraction fraction and common to the three gravity conditions (i.e. 1 g ground, 1 g space and µg space).

<p>Blue bars indicate the total number of proteins identified. Red bars show the number of proteins with at least one transmembrane segment and the green bars the number of proteins which are annotated as “membrane” in Gene Ontology (The number of proteins is indicated at the top of the bars).</p