NASA Neurolab: Effects of Spaceflight on Drosophila Neural Development

在发育过程中，神经元(神经细胞)会发展出精细的过程，这些过程可能会延伸到很长的距离，以达到高度特定的局部靶点。决定这种精确寻路和连通性的机制还不完全清楚。果蝇为这种发育提供了有价值的数据，而遗传交叉和突变的容易产生为相关的分子机制提供了方法。地面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发展特定的联系。有了这个识别出的单细胞的非常详细的背景，这个项目利用神经实验室的太空飞行作为一个独特的机会来测试，在缺乏正常重力的情况下，重力如何可能是一个微妙的线索，对正常发展这种神经元突起和连接很重要。果蝇在太空飞行中的优势是质量非常低，需要的护理也很少，所以这项研究可以涉及非常大量的个体来分析发育变异性。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总体上很重要的问题。对该项目的贡献代表了NSF生物科学局参与了NASA/机构间神经实验室在航天飞机轨道上的活动，这反过来又是大脑活动十年的一部分。

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.