The First International Caenorhabditis elegans Flight Experiment

Abstract

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a useful experimental organism for studies on several biological functions because the whole genome has already determined and cell genealogy has been cleared. International Caenorhabditis elegans Experiment-1 (ICE-First) was carried out using Russian Soyuz from April 19 to 30, 2004. JAXA participated in this international cooperative experiment, and acquired the flight samples of C. elegans. JAXA organized the research team and focuses on the following investigations: 1) the role of signal transduction regarding small G protein, Rho, in a gravity sensing mechanism and neural development, 2) whether meiotic chromosomal dynamics and apoptosis in the germ cells are carried out under microgravity condition, 3) the effects of microgravity on cell migration and muscle development, 4) how microgravity affect the aging process. The post flight analyses of above investigations are in progress. In this manuscript, we would like to introduce the ICE-First mission.