NASA Neurolab: Effects of Spaceflight on Drosophila Neural Development

在发育过程中，神经元（神经细胞）发展出复杂的过程，可以延伸很长的距离，以达到高度特定的局部目标。 确定这种精确寻路和连通性的机制尚不完全清楚。 果蝇（Drosophila）提供了关于这种发展的宝贵数据，而产生遗传杂交和突变的容易性为研究所涉及的分子机制提供了方法。 基于地面的研究非常详细地展示了特定的运动神经元如何与特定的肌肉建立特定的联系。 有了这个非常详细的背景，从确定的单细胞，这个项目使用神经实验室的太空飞行作为一个独特的机会来测试，通过缺乏正常的重力，重力如何可能是一个微妙的线索，在发展这种神经元的生长和连接正常的重要性。 果蝇在太空飞行中的优势在于质量很低，需要的照顾也很少，因此这项研究可以涉及大量的个体来分析发育的变异性。 这项研究的结果将对发育神经科学很重要，也将提出对发育生物学很重要的问题。 对这一项目的贡献是国家科学基金会生物科学理事会参与美国航天局/机构间神经实验室在航天飞机轨道飞行器上的活动，而这又是大脑十年活动的一部分。

During development, neurons (nerve cells) develop elaborate processes that may extend over long distances to reach highly specific local targets. The mechanisms that determine such accurate pathfinding and connectivity are not fully known. The fruitfly, Drosophila, has provided valuable data on such development, and the ease of producing genetic crosses and mutations provides approaches to the molecular mechanisms involved. Ground-based studies show in great detail how particular motor neurons develop specific connections with specific muscles. With this very detailed background from identified single cells, this project uses the space flight of Neurolab as a unique opportunity to test, by lacking normal gravity, how gravity may be a subtle cue important in developing such neuronal outgrowths and connections normally. Drosophila has the advantages for space flight of having very low mass and needing minimal care, so this study can involve very large numbers of individuals to assay developmental variability. Results of this study will be important for developmental neuroscience, and also will raise issues important for developmental biology in general. Contribution to this project represents the NSF Biological Sciences Directorate's participation in the NASA/Interagency Neurolab activity on the space shuttle orbiter, which in turn is part of Decade of the Brain activities.