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A Simple Protocol to Analyze the Effects of Simulated Microgravity on Nematodes

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Abstract

Spaceflight experiments will give us valuable insights on how gravity influences human biology at the cellular and molecular level. However, there are many limitations on conducting spaceflight experiments, such as operations cost, duration, replicability, and launch opportunities. In place of conducting microgravity experiments in space, clinostats and random positioning machines are used as suitable alternatives in a laboratory. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a genetic model organism that has been sent to space to understand the effects of microgravity at the cellular and genetic level. In this study, we described and tested a simple new method to expose the animal C. elegans to simulated microgravity using a 2-dimensional (2D) clinostat. We confirmed our protocol to resemble space microgravity conditions by comparing microgravity-induced gene expression changes in two organisms, namely C. elegans and E. coli, with previously published gene expression studies in microgravity conditions. Using this method, we found that C. elegans development proceeded normally but fertility was slightly compromised. Our protocol will allow a standardization of ground-based microgravity experiments and increase the reliability of nematode gravity experiments.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks to Dr. Rocel A. Indong for reading through the manuscript. Two-dimensional (2D) clinostat (Advanced Engineering Services., Co. Ltd. Model UN-KTM2 REV. NC. 2012.11) was provided by the Zero-Gravity Instrument Project (ZGIP) of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA).

Funding

This research was funded by the Space Technology Development Project, National Research Foundation of Korea, grant number 2021M1A3B6A01093157.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Biological Science and Technology, College of Science and Technology, Yonsei University, 26493, Gangwon-do, South Korea

    S. S. Kalichamy, A. V. Alcantara Jr. & J. I. Lee

  2. Department of Physiology, Mitohormesis Research Center, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, 26426, Gangwon-do, South Korea

    K-h. Yoon

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  1. S. S. Kalichamy
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Correspondence to J. I. Lee.

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Kalichamy, S.S., Alcantara Jr., A.V., Yoon, Kh. et al. A Simple Protocol to Analyze the Effects of Simulated Microgravity on Nematodes. Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 48 (Suppl 2), S22–S33 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359021150097

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