Graviperception and gravitaxis in algae.

Photosynthetic flagellates are among the most intensely studied unicellular organisms in the field of graviperception and gravitaxis. While the phenomenon of graviorientation has been known for many decades, only recently was the molecular mechanism unveiled. Earlier hypotheses tried to explain the precise orientation by a passive buoy mechanism assuming the tail end to be heavier than the front. In the photosynthetic flagellate Euglena gracilis, the whole cell body is denser than the surrounding medium, pressing onto the lower cell membrane where it seems to activate mechanosensitive ion channels specific for calcium. The calcium entering the cells during reorientation can be visualized by the fluorescence probe, Calcium Crimson. Cyclic AMP is likewise involved in the molecular pathway. Inhibitors of calcium channels and ionophores impair gravitaxis while caffeine, a blocker of the phosphodiesterase, enhances the precision of orientation.     

The identification of gravikinesis from ciliates: methods and experience.

Recent advances in the gravitational physiology of ciliates are reported: the theoretical and experimental assessment of gravikinesis and sedimentation, calculation of gravikinesis using slopes of observed swimming and sedimentation data under hypergravity, orientational distributions of gravikinesis, central and membrane-associated gravitransduction, and the kinetics of activation and relaxation of gravikinesis.     

Mechanosensing and signal transduction in tendrils.

The perception of thigmic stimuli is a widespread phenomenon among plants with decisive meaning for the ability to survive. Beside a general sensitivity for mechanical stimuli many plants have evolved specialized organs with highly developed mechanisms to perceive and transduce the applied forces. Tendrils of Bryonia dioica and Pisum sativum have been chosen to study the effects of mechanical stimulation on plant physiology. Both types of tendrils, although exhibiting different morphology, respond to such a stimulus with a rapid coiling response to the dorsal side of the organ within minutes. The actual perception of the stimulus is most likely coupled to the cytoskeleton serving as the mediator between the physical stimulus and the biochemical response. Drugs affecting the status of the cytoskeleton were used to get more insights into this specific process. The results indicate that microtubuli (MT) play the most important role in the perception of thigmic stimuli in tendrils. Colchicine-mediated disruption of MT lead to total inhibition of the response to the thigmic stimulus in tendrils of Pisum and to a reduced response in Bryonia. Alamethicin, an ionophore that can mimic action potentials in membranes, was able to bypass this inhibition suggesting a direct involvement of MT in depolarization of the membranes. Auxin, however, which is also supposed to be involved in the regulation of the coiling response, failed to bypass colchicine-dependent inhibition. Vinblastine, another microtubule depolimerizing agent, did induce tendril coiling in Pisum without further stimulation. Application of taxol and other MT-stabilizing drugs as well as disruption of the actin network did not affect the coiling response of tendrils. In Pisum indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) is induced after mechanical stimulation during the coiling response, but not jasmonic acid. A further consequence of mechanical stimulation is the induction of an oxidative burst and an increase in soluble sugar. A model is presented integrating these results and might serve as a common basis for the understanding of the perception of mechanical stimuli.     

Involvement of the second messenger cAMP in gravity-signal transduction in Physarum.

The aim of the investigation was to clarify, whether cellular signal processing following graviperception involves second messenger pathways. The test object was a most gravisensitive free-living ameboid cell, the myxomycete (acellular slime mold) Physarum polycephalum. It was demonstrated that the motor response is related to acceleration-dependent changes in the levels of the cellular second messenger cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). Rotating Physarum plasmodia in the gravity field of the Earth about a horizontal axis increased their cAMP concentration. Depriving the cells for a few days of the acceleration stimulus (near weightlessness in a space experiment on STS-69) slightly lowered plasmodial cAMP levels. Thus, the results provide first indications that the acceleration-stimulus signal transduction chain of Physarum uses an ubiquitous second messenger pathway.     

Introduction: an overview of gravity sensing, perception, and signal transduction in animals and plants.

The antiquity of biological sensitivity and response to gravity can be traced through the ubiquity of morphology, mechanisms, and cellular events in gravity sensing biological systems in the most diverse species of both plants and animals. Further, when we examine organisms at the cellular level to elucidate the molecular mechanism by which a gravitational signal is transduced into a biochemical response, the distinction between plants and animals becomes blurred.     

Identification of specific gravity sensitive signal transduction pathways in human A431 carcinoma cells.

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) activates a well characterized signal transduction cascade in human A431 epidermoid carcinoma cells. The influence of gravity on EGF-induced EGF-receptor clustering and early gene expression as well as on actin polymerization and actin organization have been investigated. Different signalling pathways induced by the agents TPA, forskolin and A23187 that activate gene expression were tested for sensitivity to gravity. EGF-induced c-fos and c-jun expression were decreased in microgravity. However, constitutive beta-2 microglobulin expression remained unaltered. Under simulated weightlessness conditions EGF- and TPA-induced c-fos expression was decreased, while forskolin- and A23187-induced c-fos expression was independent of the gravity conditions. These results suggest that gravity affects specific signalling pathways. Preliminary results indicate the EGF-induced EGF-receptor clustering remained unaltered irrespective of the gravity conditions. Furthermore, the relative filamentous actin content of steady state A431 cells was enhanced under microgravity conditions and actin filament organization was altered. Under simulated weightlessness actin filament organization in steady state cells as well as in EGF-treated cells was altered as compared to the 1 G reference experiment. Interestingly the microtubule and keratin organization in untreated cells showed no difference with the normal gravity samples. This indicates that gravity may affect specific components of the signal transduction circuitry.     

Signal transduction in T lymphocytes--a comparison of the data from space, the free fall machine and the random positioning machine.

In this paper we discuss the effect of microgravity on T cells and we present the data of studies with two new machines for 0 g simulations. Several experiments in space show that mitogenic T cell activation is lost at 0 g. Immunocytochemistry indicates that such effect is associated with changes of the cytoskeleton. Biochemical studies suggest that the lack of expression of the interleukin-2 receptor is one of the major causes of the loss of activity. In fact, interleukin-2 is the third signal required for full activation. In order to deepen our investigations we are now working with the free-fall machine, FFM, invented by D. Mesland, and with the random positioning machine, RPM, or three-dimensional clinostat, developed by T. Hoson. The FFM produces periods of free-fall lasting approximately 800 ms followed by bounces of 15-30 g lasting 45-60 ms. The RPM eliminates the effect of gravity by rotating biological specimen randomly around two orthogonal axes. While the FFM failed to reproduce the results obtained with T lymphocytes in space, the data from the RPM are in good agreement with those in real microgravity. In fact, the inhibition of the mitotic index in the RPM is 89% compared to static controls. The RPM (as the FFM) can carry markedly larger specimen than the fast rotating clinostat and thus allows to conduct comprehensive studies to select suitable biological objects for further investigations in space.     

On initial steps of chemical prebiotic evolution: Triggering autocatalytic reaction of oligomerization

Searching for extraterrestrial life attracts more and more attention. However this searching hardly can be effective without sufficiently universal concept of life origin, which incidentally tackles a problem of origin of life on the Earth. A concept of initial stages of life origin is stated in the paper. The concept eliminates key difficulties in the problem of life origin, and allows experimental verification of it. According to the concept the predecessor of living beings has to be sufficiently simple to provide non-zero probability of self-assembling during short (in geological or cosmic scale) time. In addition the predecessor has to be capable of autocatalysis, and further complication (evolution). A possible scenario of initial stage of life origin, which can be realized both on other planets, and inside experimental facility is considered. In the scope of the scenario a theoretical model of multivariate oligomeric autocatalyst is presented. Results of computer simulation of two versions of oligomeric autocatalytic reactions are presented. It is shown that the contribution of monomer activation reaction is essential, and in some cases autocatalysis in polymerizing reaction can be achieved without catalyzing proper monomer binding reaction.     

IR and UV spectroscopic data for polyynes: predictions for long carbon chain compounds in Titan's atmosphere.

A better understanding of the complex organic chemistry occurring in the methane rich atmosphere of Titan can be achieved via the comparison of observations with results obtained by theoretical models. Available observations are still few but their analysis requires the knowledge of a large set of data, namely frequencies and absolute band intensities. Cross sections are also needed to develop the chemical schemes of photochemical models, in particular the schemes leading to the formation of haze particles visible on Titan. Unfortunately, some of these parameters are not well known, especially if one takes into account the extreme physical conditions of the studied object. This lack of data is particularly enhanced for polyynes because these compounds are highly unstable at the usual pressure and temperature conditions of a laboratory and therefore are very difficult to study. We have developed UV and IR studies, coupling experimental and theoretical approaches, in order to extrapolate the parameters available for short polyynes to longer carbon chains. In the mid-UV range, when the length of the chain increases, the absorption system of polyynes is shifted to longer wavelength and its oscillator strength increases linearly. In the IR range, with the increase of the number of carbon bonds, the positions of the CCC and CCH bending modes shift to lower energy, the latest converging rapidly to a fixed value of 620.5 cm-1 for an infinite length polyyne. Implications for detection and evolution of polyynes in Titan's atmosphere are emphasised.     

Molecular analysis of the graviperception signal transduction in the flagellate Euglena gracilis: Involvement of a transient receptor potential-like channel and a calmodulin

Euglena gracilis, a unicellular, photosynthetic flagellate is a model system for environmentally controlled behavior responses. The organism shows pronounced negative gravitaxis. This movement is based on physiological mechanisms, which in the past had been only indirectly assessed. It was shown that mechano-sensitive calcium channels are involved in the gravitaxis response. Recent studies have demonstrated that members of the transient receptor potential (TRP) family function as mechano-sensitive channels in several different cell types. We have sequenced part of a TRP gene in Euglena and applied RNA interference (RNAi) to confirm that these channels are involved in graviperception. It was found that RNAi against the putative TRP channel abolished gravitaxis. The genes of three calmodulins were sequences in Euglena, one of which was previously known in its protein structure (cal 1). The other two were unknown (cal 2 and cal 3). Cal 2 has been analyzed in detail. The biosynthesis of the corresponding proteins of cal 1 and cal 2 was inhibited by means of RNA interference to see whether this blockage impairs gravitaxis. RNAi of cal 1 leads to a long-term loss of free swimming in the cells (while euglenoid movement persists). It induced pronounced cell form aberrations and the division of cells was hampered. After recovery from RNAi the cell showed precise negative gravitaxis again. Thus cal 1 does not seem to be involved in gravitaxis. In contrast, the blockage of cal 2 has no pronounced influence on motility and cell form but leads to a complete loss of gravitactic orientation for more than 30 days showing that this calmodulin is an element in the signal transduction chain. The data are discussed in the context of the current model of the gravitaxis signal transduction chain in Euglena gracilis.     

脉冲功率放大链相位噪声检定系统中的信号处理系统

详细介绍了在脉冲功率放大链相位噪声检定系统中的信号处理系统的设计方案、工作原理及功能。本系统是整个检定系统的重要组成部分，在整个系统中担负着将放大器链的噪声信号进行转换、采集、存储、传输、处理和显示等任务，它由硬件电路和系统软件两大部分组成。硬件电路主要由采集单元、存储单元、控制单元、时钟单元及计算机接口等几个模块组成，其功能是：将模拟信号转换为数字信号，暂存采集到的信号数据，并将数据送人计算机内存中。电路中设有自检功能，从而增加了调试的透明度，也提高了系统工作的可靠性。系统软件由控制软件和分析处理软件组成，前者负责控制硬件进行自检，以及谐调各部件间按一定的时序工作；后者负责将噪声数据进行各种数据处理（时域、频域分析），并根据检定系统的测试指标要求（噪底、起伏特性等）给出正确的测量结果。软件设计采用多层菜单式动态显示技术，图文并茂，显示醒目直观。整个检定系统经多次联试试验后，结果表明，本信号处理系统方案设计合理，工作稳定可靠，功能强，维护方便。将本系统的设计思想应用于雷达发射机稳定性测试系统中也取得了很好的效果。     

脉冲功率放大链相位噪声测试系统

首先讨论了脉冲调制波频率稳定度的表征方法，引入脉间方差的时域表征、相位噪声谱的频域表征的方法。而后介绍了电桥法测量相位噪声的基本原理，并在此基础上建立了一套２～１８ＧＨｚ的脉冲功率放大链相位噪声测试系统。采用电调移相器对系统进行动态标定。测试结果表明，该系统具有很低的噪声底部，可满足绝大部分测试需要。     

Amphibian tail regeneration in space: effect on the pigmentation of the blastema.

In Urodele amphibians, the tail regenerates after section. This regeneration, including tissues as different as bone (vertebrae), muscle, epidermis and central nervous system (spinal cord), was studied in adult Pleurodeles sent aboard the russian satellite Bion 10 and compared with tail regeneration in synchronous controls. Spinal cord, muscle and cartilage regeneration occurred in space animals as in synchronous controls. One of the most important differences between the two groups was the pigmentation of the blastemas: it was shown in laboratory, to be not due to a difference in light intensity.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: primitive pigment systems in the prebiotic environment.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in the form of polymerized derivatives represent over 90% of the organic material of carbonaceous chondrites. It now appears likely that there was substantial survival of the organic content of meteoritic and cometary infall during late accretion, so that PAH would presumably be major components of the organic inventory present on the prebiotic Earth. An important question relative to chemical evolution and energy transduction is the nature of pigments which could be available to make light energy available to the earliest cellular forms of life. PAH and their derivatives all absorb light in the near UV and blue wavelengths, and are candidates for primitive pigments. We have explored this possibility in a model system consisting of mixtures of pyrene, fluoranthene and pyrene derivatives with hexadecane, dispersed in dilute salt solutions. Upon illumination, photochemical oxidation of the hexadecane occurs, with long-chain amphiphiles such as 2-hexadecanone and 2-hexadecanol as products. Because the reaction proceeds under strictly anaerobic conditions, the source of oxygen is apparently water. We also observed acid pH shifts during illumination. Photochemical production of hydrogen ion is significant, in that chemiosmotic proton gradients across membranes are used by all contemporary cells as a source of energy for ATP synthesis and nutrient transport. To test whether the protons could be used to transduce light energy into a useful form, PAH derivatives were included in lipid bilayer membranes (liposomes). Upon illumination, protons (or acidic products) were produced and accumulated inside the vesicles, so that substantial pH gradients were established across the membranes, acid inside. We conclude that PAH dissolved in aliphatic hydrocarbons absorb light energy and use it to oxidize the hydrocarbon to long-chain amphiphilic molecules. The oxidation is accompanied by release of protons. If PAH derivatives are included in the bilayer membrane of lipid vesicles, protons accumulate within the membrane-bounded volumes to form proton gradients. This system provides a useful model of a primitive photochemical reaction in which light energy is transduced into potentially useable forms.     

Isotope fractionations in the terrestrial carbon cycle: a brief overview.

The bias in favour of isotopically light carbon inherent in biological carbon fixation has brought about an isotopic disproportionation of primordial (mantle-derived) carbon on a global scale, causing an enrichment of 12C in reduced (biogenic) carbon and a concomitant accumulation of the heavy complement (13C) in the residual oxidized (inorganic) carbon pool. As a result, the terrestrial carbon cycle has gone bipartite, comprising an organic branch of isotopically light carbon, and an inorganic branch made up of 13C-enriched carbon (mostly in the form of carbonate). The isotopic disparity between the two principal terrestrial carbon species can be traced back over 3.8 Gyr of Earth history, attesting to a biological modulation of the carbon cycle since the time of formation of the oldest sediments.     

Extraterrestrial organic chemistry: from the interstellar medium to the origins of life. Part 2: complex organic chemistry in the environment of planets and satellites.

During COSPAR'00 in Warsaw, Poland, in the frame of Sub-Commission F.3 events (Planetary Biology and Origins of Life), part of COSPAR Commission F (Life Sciences as Related to Space), and Commission B events (Space Studies of the Earth-Moon System, Planets, and Small Bodies of the Solar System) a large joint symposium (F.3.4/B0.8) was held on extraterrestrial organic chemistry. Part 2 of this symposium was devoted to complex organic chemistry in the environment of planets and satellites. The aim of this event was to cover and review new data which have been recently obtained and to give new insights on data which are expected in the near future to increase our knowledge of the complex organic chemistry occurring in several planets and satellites of the Solar System, outside the earth, and their implications for exobiology and life in the universe. The event was composed of two main parts. The first part was mainly devoted to the inner planets and Europa and the search for signatures of life or organics in those environments. The second part was related to the study of the outer solar system.     

美国未来太空政策的 颠覆与维持之斗

1 唐纳德·特朗普——颠覆现有太空政策唐纳德·特朗普曾一度表达对现有太空政策的不满,认为就像是第三世界国家.他提出美国需要一个全新的太空政策,需要将公共任务、商业手段,以及快速及时地解决现实威胁和把握现实机会三者结合起来.唐纳德·特朗普要求其竞选政策顾问罗伯特·沃克,为竞选活动提出一个有远见的、颠覆性的、合作性的、具有弹性的、具有实质性改变的太空政策.     

Cosmic dust analog simulation in a microgravity environment: the STARDUST program.

We have undertaken a project called STARDUST which is a collaboration with Italian and American investigators. The goals of this program are to study the condensation and coagulation of refractory materials from the vapor and to study the properties of the resulting grains as analogs to cosmic dust particles. To reduce thermal convective currents and to develop valuable experience in designing an experiment for the Gas-Grain Simulation Facility aboard Space Station Freedom we have built and flown a new chamber to study these processes under periods of microgravity available on NASA's KC-135 Research Aircraft. Preliminary results from flights with magnesium and zinc are discussed.     

CNS-induced deficits of heavy particle irradiation in space: the aging connection.

Our research over the last several years has suggested that young (3 mo) rats exposed to whole-body 56Fe irradiation show neuronal signal transduction alterations and accompanying motor behavioral changes that are similar to those seen in aged (22-24 mo) rats. Since it has been postulated that 1-2% of the composition of cosmic rays contain 56Fe particles of heavy particle irradiation, there may be significant CNS effects on astronauts on long-term space flights which could produce behavioral changes that could be expressed during the mission or at some time after the return. These, when combined with other effects such as weightlessness and exposure to proton irradiations may even supercede mutagenic effects. It is suggested that by determining mechanistic relationships that might exist between aging and irradiation it may be possible to determine the common factor(s) involved in both perturbations and develop procedures to offset their deleterious effects. For example, one method that has been effective is nutritional modification.