Fertilization of Sea Urchin Eggs and Sperm Motility Are Negatively Impacted under Low Hypergravitational Forces Significant to Space Flight1

Tash, Joseph S.; Kim, Shane; Schuber, M.; Seibt, D.; Kinsey, William H.

doi:10.1095/biolreprod65.4.1224

Cited by 30 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Closely related B. rapa successfully reproduced at 4-g and even showed enhanced quality for seeds developed in hypergravity ). On the other hand, it is interesting to note that sea urchin reproduction is very sensitive to gravity-hypergravity (2-g or 5-g) caused a 50% reduction in both the rate of sperm-egg binding and the rate of fertilization (Tash et al 2001).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hypergravity prevents seed production in Arabidopsis by disrupting pollen tube growth

Musgrave

Kuang²,

Allen

et al. 2009

Planta

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How tightly land plants are adapted to the gravitational force (g) prevailing on Earth has been of interest because unlike many other environmental factors, g presents as a constant force. Ontogeny of mature angiosperms begins with an embryo that is formed after tip growth by a pollen tube delivers the sperm nucleus to the egg. Because of the importance to plant fitness, we have investigated how gravity affects these early stages of reproductive development. Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. plants were grown for 13 days prior to being transferred to growth chambers attached to a large diameter rotor, where they were continuously exposed to 2-g or 4-g for the subsequent 11 days. Plants began flowering 1 day after start of the treatments, producing hundreds of flowers for analysis of reproductive development. At 4-g, Arabidopsis flowers self-pollinated normally but did not produce seeds, thus derailing the entire life cycle. Pollen viability and stigma esterase activity were not compromised by hypergravity; however, the growth of pollen tubes into the stigmas was curtailed at 4-g. In vitro pollen germination assays showed that 4-g average tube length was less than half that for 1-g controls. Closely related Brassica rapa L., which produces seeds at 4-g, required forces in excess of 6-g to slow in vitro tube growth to half that at 1-g. The results explain why seed production is absent in Arabidopsis at 4-g and point to species differences with regard to the g-sensitivity of pollen tube growth.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hypergravity prevents seed production in Arabidopsis by disrupting pollen tube growth

Musgrave

Kuang²,

Allen

et al. 2009

Planta

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“…So far, the effects of microgravity on early development have been studied using sea urchins, fish, amphibians, and birds (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12). These studies have concluded that microgravity does not prevent animal reproduction.…”

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confidence: 99%

Healthy offspring from freeze-dried mouse spermatozoa held on the International Space Station for 9 months

Wakayama

Kamada

Yamanaka

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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If humans ever start to live permanently in space, assisted reproductive technology using preserved spermatozoa will be important for producing offspring; however, radiation on the International Space Station (ISS) is more than 100 times stronger than that on Earth, and irradiation causes DNA damage in cells and gametes.Here we examined the effect of space radiation on freeze-dried mouse spermatozoa held on the ISS for 9 mo at -95°C, with launch and recovery at room temperature. DNA damage to the spermatozoa and male pronuclei was slightly increased, but the fertilization and birth rates were similar to those of controls. Nextgeneration sequencing showed only minor genomic differences between offspring derived from space-preserved spermatozoa and controls, and all offspring grew to adulthood and had normal fertility. Thus, we demonstrate that although space radiation can damage sperm DNA, it does not affect the production of viable offspring after at least 9 mo of storage on the ISS.International Space Station | preservation | freeze-dry | spermatozoa | fertilization S ince the "space dog" Laika (Лайка) was first placed into orbit in 1957 (1), many humans and animals have been to space or stayed on the International Space Station (ISS) for more than 6 mo. In the future, humans likely will live on largescale space stations or in other space habitats for several years or even over many generations. At that time, assisted reproductive technology (ART) likely will be used to produce humans in space habitats, given that the use of ART by infertile couples has increased year by year and that ART can be performed with cryopreserved spermatozoa or embryos (2, 3). In a similar way, domestic animals likely will be generated by artificial insemination (AI) in space, because many domestic animals are already produced by AI using long-term cryopreserved spermatozoa (4). In addition, genetic diversity is very important for maintaining a species, especially in small colonies, and this could be achieved by cryopreserving a diverse range of gamete cells. The environment in space is very different from that on Earth, however, including high levels of space radiation and microgravity, and the effects of these factors on mammalian reproduction are largely unknown. Although with current technology, producing offspring in such an environment can be difficult or dangerous (5), the study of reproduction in space is a very important subject for our future.So far, the effects of microgravity on early development have been studied using sea urchins, fish, amphibians, and birds (6-12). These studies have concluded that microgravity does not prevent animal reproduction. However, because of the difficulty in maintaining mammals and performing experiments in space, studies of mammal reproduction in space have not progressed as well as in other animals, and only a few papers have been published (13-18). Those studies and our previous study (19) have suggested that mammalian reproduction in space under conditions of microgravity cannot be easil...

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“…More importantly this sensitivity has an effect on the ability of the sperms to fertilize eggs. 28 Hypergravity decreased the hatching rate of eggs of C. elegans. Oocyte meiotic division for exclusion of polar bodies shortly after fertilization is the most susceptible aspect to hypergravity.…”

Section: Invertebratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…25,26 Studies have also been performed at the cellular and tissue level focusing on how cells migrate and position themselves during development in the frog, 27 how fertilization and development occurs, 28,29 etc. The most prominent microgravity-induced cellular and tissue differences have been identified in bone tissue cells, 25 muscle tissue cells 26 and in immune system cells.…”

Section: Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life and Gravity

Bhaskaran

Jagtap

Vidyasagar

2009

Biophys. Rev. Lett.

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All organisms on earth have evolved at unit gravity and thus are probably adapted to function optimally at 1 g. However, with the advent of space exploration, it has been shown that organisms are capable of surviving at much less than 1 g, as well as at greater than 1 g. Organisms subjected to increased g levels exhibit alterations in physiological processes that compensate for novel environmental stresses, such as increased weight and density-driven sedimentation. Weight drives many chemical, biological, and ecological processes on earth. Altering weight changes these processes. The most important physiological changes caused by microgravity include bone demineralization, skeletal muscle atrophy, vestibular problems causing space motion sickness, cardiovascular deconditioning, etc. Manned missions into space and significant concerns in developmental and evolutionary biology in zero and low gravity conditions demand a concentrated research effort in space-medicine, physiology and on a larger scale -gravitational biophysics. Space exploration is a new frontier with long-term missions to the moon and Mars not far away. Research in these areas would also provide us with fascinating insights into how gravity has shaped our evolution on this planet and how it still governs some of the basic life processes. Understanding the physiological changes caused by long-duration microgravity remains a daunting challenge. The present concise review deals with the effects of altered gravity on the biological processes at the cellular, organic and systemic level which will be helpful for the researchers aspiring to venture in this area. The effects observed in plants and animals are presented under the classifications such as cells, plants, invertebrates, vertebrates and humans. . Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com by UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND LIBRARY -SERIALS UNIT on 03/15/15. For personal use only.300 S. Bhaskaran, S. S. Jagtap & P. B. Vidyasagaralso adapted to utilize it for their benefit. For instance, large marine creatures like whales use their capacious lungs as buoyancy tanks and use their fins and tails to remain afloat or to be mobile. Without these adaptations, they would have quickly sunk to the seabed. Protozoa seem to utilize gravity depending on the preferred living conditions. 1 Paramecium which feeds on aerobic bacteria, shows a negative gravitaxis, i.e. the cell population swims mainly upwards, against the gravity vector, thus reaching oxygen saturated layers. Some species such as aquatic insects detect gravity using air bubbles trapped in certain passageways viz., tracheal tubes. 2 However, most organisms use statocysts consisting of a fluid-filled chamber lined with a hairy, touch-sensitive epithelium containing statolith which is a solid granule of higher density. 2 Interestingly, biological systems have been able to exploit their designs and molecular mechanisms to increase the sensitivity of their thresholds of detection. The vibrations detected by the Corti organ in a mammalian inner ear can be of the sam...

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Fertilization of Sea Urchin Eggs and Sperm Motility Are Negatively Impacted under Low Hypergravitational Forces Significant to Space Flight1

Cited by 30 publications

References 52 publications

Hypergravity prevents seed production in Arabidopsis by disrupting pollen tube growth

Hypergravity prevents seed production in Arabidopsis by disrupting pollen tube growth

Healthy offspring from freeze-dried mouse spermatozoa held on the International Space Station for 9 months

Life and Gravity

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