The Zebrafish Science Monitor Vol 3(5)

ZEBRAFISH DEVELOPMENT IN SPACE

By E.M. Goolish, NASA Ames Research Center, P.O. Box 138, Moffett Field, CA 94035; (415) 604- 1961/(415) 604- 1701, ED_GOOLISH@QMGATE.ARC.NASA.GOV

• Are you studying the developmental biology of zebrafish, or some other aquatic model?
• What are the effects of gravity on the particular aspect of their developmental biology which you are studying?

> Nasa is developing facilities to maintain aquatic organisms, including zebrafish, on the space shuttle and/or space station to conduct research on the effects of microgravity on the developmental biology of vertebrates.

It is anticipated that short- term (hours to days) thru long- term, multi- generational (>6 months) studies will be possible.

This ambitious effort, a part of the gravitational biology facility project, is soliciting input from members of the scientific community which may be users of the facility once it is operational. Suggestions on the kinds of experiments which would make best use of the facility will be used to define what the system will look like and what capabilities it will have.

• What stages of zebrafish development are most important to you?
• By what mechanisms do you think gravity affects development?
• Can you obtain information from multi- generationalstudies?
• How do your samples need to be fixed?
• Would other species be better to address your experiemntal objectives?

If you are interested in giving your opinions on these and other issues, please respond to the e- mail address below and include your name, mail address, and telephone/fax numbers; or call me at (415) 604- 1961.

I will send you more information about the gravitational biology facility project (gbf), and a short form for outlining particular experiments which you would like to see done in space on the gbf. These reference experiemnts will be used to help design the aquatic habitat.

If you use medaka as a model system, we would like to hear from you too!

We are defining developmental biology very broadly, so if you have creative thoughts on how the aquatic habitat could be used to study other aspects of gravitational biology among aquatic organisms, such as orientation/vestibular or cardiovascular function, please respond with those ideas as well.

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Zebrafish Science Monitor Vol 3(5)
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