Changes in gravitational force affect gene expression in developing organ systems at different developmental times

• Main Authors: Moorman Stephen J, Sokunbi Gbolabo, Shimada Naoko
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2005-05-01
• Series: BMC Developmental Biology
• Online Access: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-213X/5/10

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Little is known about the affect of microgravity on gene expression, particularly <it>in vivo </it>during embryonic development. Using transgenic zebrafish that express the <it>gfp </it>gene under the influence of a β-actin promoter, we examined the affect of simulated-microgravity on GFP expression in the heart, notochord, eye, somites, and rohon beard neurons. We exposed transgenic zebrafish to simulated-microgravity for different durations at a variety of developmental times in an attempt to determine periods of susceptibility for the different developing organ systems.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The developing heart had a period of maximum susceptibility between 32 and 56 hours after fertilization when there was an approximately 30% increase in gene expression. The notochord, eye, somites, and rohon beard neurons all showed periods of susceptibility occurring between 24 and 72 hours after fertilization. In addition, the notochord showed a second period of susceptibility between 8 and 32 hours after fertilization. Interestingly, all organs appeared to be recovering by 80 hours after fertilization despite continued exposure to simulated-microgravity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results support the idea that exposure to microgravity can cause changes in gene expression in a variety of developing organ systems in live embryos and that there are periods of maximum susceptibility to the effects.</p>