The Transgenic Arabidopsis Gene Expression System (TAGES) investigation is one in a pair of investigations that use the Advanced Biological Research System (ABRS) facility. TAGES uses Arabidopsis thaliana, thale cress, with sensor promoter-reporter gene constructs that render the plants as biomonitors (an organism used to determine the quality of the surrounding environment) of their environment using real-time nondestructive Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) imagery and traditional postflight analyses

Ferl, Robert

Paul, Anna-Lisa

NASA Technical Reports Server

Acronym: TAGES 
 
Title: Transgenic Arabidopsis Gene Expression System  
 
Principal Investigator(s):  
Robert Ferl, Ph.D., University of Florida, Gainesville, FL  
Anna-Lisa Paul, Ph.D., University of Florida, Gainesville, FL  
 
Contact(s):  
PI - Robert Ferl, 352-392-1928 x301 
PI - Anna-Lisa Paul, 352-392-1928 x-331 
Secondary - David R. Cox 321-867-6051 
 
Mailing Address(es): 
Robert Ferl, Ph.D. 
Department of Horticultural Sciences 
University of Florida 
Gainesville, FL 32601 
 
Anna-Lisa Paul, Ph.D. 
Department of Horticultural Sciences 
University of Florida 
Gainesville, FL 32601 
 
Developer(s): Kennedy Space Center, FL 
The Bionetics Corporation, Kennedy Space Center, FL  
Sponsoring Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 
 
Increment(s) Assigned: 19, 20  
 
Brief Research Summary (PAO): The Transgenic Arabidopsis Gene Expression System (TAGES) 
investigation is one in a pair of investigations that use the Advanced Biological Research System (ABRS) 
facility. TAGES uses Arabidopsis thaliana, thale cress, with sensor promoter-reporter gene constructs that 
render the plants as biomonitors (an organism used to determine the quality of the surrounding 
environment) of their environment using real-time nondestructive Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) 
imagery and traditional postflight analyses.  
Research Summary:  
• Previous on-orbit plant experiments that examined stresses at the genetic level involved 
terminating plant growth for analysis. Transgenic Arabidopsis Gene Expression System (TAGES) 
uses a new real-time imaging system in conjunction with a genetically modified plant that 
removes the need for harvesting thereby allowing the plant to continue to grow and making it 
possible to follow the development of stress in a plant over time. 
• TAGES uses Arabidopsis thaliana, commonly known as thale cress, to determine how plants 
perceive stresses in the space flight environment such as drought, inadequate light, or varying 
temperatures. 
• The new real-time technique uses a gene inserted into the genome of the plant. When a plant 
perceives a certain stress, it expresses this gene. The gene expression can be viewed with a 
special camera once the plant is illuminated with a certain frequency of blue light, the plant 
fluoresces green. 
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20090014901 2019-08-30T06:34:41+00:00Z
• Such genetically modified plants and imaging tools could be used as 'biosensors' for 
characterizing other spacecraft environments. These same tools could also be used to further 
develop and analyze plants that could grow in either lunar or Martian bases. 
Detailed Research Description: The Transgenic Arabidopsis Gene Expression System (TAGES) 
investigation will provide an understanding of physiological processes such as gene expression, 
metabolism and general plant development that are affected in plant systems exposed to space flight. 
 
TAGES investigation seeks to understand space-flight induced molecular changes in Arabidopsis thaliana 
gene activity. A series of transgenic plants (plants containing foreign DNA integrated into their genome) 
have been designed for the TAGES investigation. The plants carry sensor promoter-reporter gene 
constructs that are capable of monitoring a variety of environmental and developmental influences, 
thereby rendering the plants biomonitors of their environment. Arabidopsis thaliana is the plant of choice 
to house the sensor promoter-reporter gene constructs due to its well-understood genome and relatively 
short seed-to-seed cycle, as well as having been the focus of several space-flight studies on previous 
plant experiments conducted during ISS, Mir and Shuttle missions. 
 
The first group of biomonitors for TAGES consists of plants with alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) sensor 
promoter and beta-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene constructions. The second group of biomonitor 
plants incorporates the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) reporter gene construction. Two primary goals 
have been identified for the TAGES experiment: 1) confirm and extend data from an experiment 
conducted on STS-93 in 1999 by utilizing the GUS reporter gene system, 2) test the fidelity and 
practicality of the GFP reporter gene system in comparison to GUS. 
 
The GFP Imaging System (GIS) will demonstrate a powerful real-time, non-destructive analytical tool that 
can be used to assess the status of a target organism. This device will help to revolutionize space-based 
biological research by ultimately eliminating the resource-intensive need to return biological material to 
Earth for postflight analysis. This advanced technique can be applied to a host of model organisms 
engineered with the GFP gene construct including plants, microbes, and nematodes.  
Project Type: Payload  
Images and Captions: 
 
Advanced Biological Research System (ABRS) Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) Imaging System 
prototype. Image provided by The Bionetics Corporation at Kennedy Space Center).  
 
 
Arabidopsis plants imaged in white light (left) and Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) excitation illumination, 
right. Image provided by Anna-Lisa Paul, Ph.D. and Robert Ferl, Ph.D., Department of Horticultural 
Sciences, University of Florida.  
 
Operations Location: ISS Inflight  
Brief Research Operations:  
• The TAGES, Arabidopsis thaliana plants are launched live along with the powered Advanced 
Biological Research System (ABRS). The first TAGES beta-glucuronidase (GUS) harvest occurs 
at Launch plus 5 (L+5) days using the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) fixation tubes (KFT) 
preservation (RNALaterTM). 
• The A. thaliana plants containing the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) reporter gene are 
autonomously imaged within the ABRS facility using the GFP Imaging System (GIS). 
• About every 2 weeks, GFP plants are harvested and other plants within ABRS are moved into the 
field of view of the GFP camera. 
Operational Requirements: TAGES requires a controlled environment provided by the ABRS facility 
which also provides images that are downlinked to the ground teams. The crew is responsible for 
harvesting, reinitialization, water refill and changing out the air filter. After harvesting, parts of the samples 
are chemically preserved and stored in the Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI).  
Operational Protocols: The crewmembers are responsible for refilling the water reservoir by using a 
syringe to transfer approximately 60-mL of water from the ISS potable water source to each of two quick 
disconnect fittings associated with the two reservoirs inside the ABRS. Air filter change out is performed 
by opening the front hatch of the ABRS locker, loosening a Velcro restraining strap, and pulling each of 
the two filters off of the back side of the hatch. There are blind mate connectors on the back side of each 
filter. 
 
For the harvesting of the TAGES A. thaliana plants, crewmembers remove one root tray from the ABRS 
to access petri plates containing the plants. Plants are harvested from petri plates into the KFTs. Some of 
these KFTs require a day to perfuse the plant tissues before placing in cold stowage at -68 degrees C or 
colder until return. During the harvests, some petri plates are moved into or out of the field of view of the 
autonomous GFP Imaging System (GIS) attached to the root tray.  
Review Cycle Status: PI Reviewed  
Category: Biological Sciences in Microgravity  
Sub-Category: Plant Biology  
Space Applications: TAGES along with the ABRS hardware demonstrates the capabilities of providing 
the correct environment for plant growth onboard spacecraft. For future long-duration exploration, crews 
will need to be able to grow plants for a variety of applications.  
Earth Applications: The miniaturization of the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) imaging apparatus as a 
requirement for this space flight investigation has produced a device that is easily transportable and may 
be used as a means for conducting in situ analysis of appropriately genetically prepared biomonitors. An 
engineering prototype of this device has already been used by a joint U.S. and Canadian research team 
to conduct biomonitoring of plants at the remote Haughton crater in the high arctic on Devon Island, 
Nunavut, Canada. The TAGES system also represents advances in telemetric data collection. There are 
numerous biological and biomedical applications for this type of technology in terrestrial applications.  
Manifest Status: Continuing  
Supporting Organization: Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD)  
Previous Missions: A similar investigation, Plant Growth in Microgravity (PGIM-01), flew onboard STS-
93 in 1999.  
 
Related Payload(s): Cambium 
Last Update: 02/12/2009  
 


Transgenic Arabidopsis Gene Expression System

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