Zhao Yang, Johnsen Robert, Baillie David, Rose Ann
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Gravit Space Biol Bull. 2005 Jun;18(2):11-6.
Although it is well known that radiation causes mutational damage, little is known about the biological effects of long-term exposure to radiation in space. Exposure to radiation can result in serious heritable defects in experimental animals, and in humans, susceptibility to cancer, radiation-sickness, and death at high dosages. It is possible to do ground controlled studies of different types of radiation on experimental animals and to physically measure radiation on the space station or on space probes. However, the actual biological affects of long-term exposure to the full range of space radiation have not been studied, and little information is available about the biological consequences of solar flares. Biological systems are not simply passive recording instruments. They respond differently under different conditions, and thus it is important to be able to collect data from a living animal. There are technical difficulties that restrict the placement of an experimental organism in a space environment for long periods of time, in a manner that allows for the recovery of genetic data. Use of the self-fertilizing hermaphroditic nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans offers potential for the design of a biological dosimeter. In this paper, we describe the advantages of this model system and review the literature of C. elegans in space.
尽管众所周知辐射会造成突变损伤，但对于长期暴露于太空辐射的生物学效应却知之甚少。暴露于辐射会在实验动物身上导致严重的遗传缺陷，而在人类身上，则会导致对癌症的易感性、辐射病以及高剂量辐射下的死亡。可以在地面上对实验动物进行不同类型辐射的对照研究，并在空间站或太空探测器上对辐射进行物理测量。然而，长期暴露于全范围太空辐射的实际生物学影响尚未得到研究，关于太阳耀斑的生物学后果也几乎没有可用信息。生物系统并非简单的被动记录仪器。它们在不同条件下会有不同反应，因此能够从活体动物收集数据很重要。存在一些技术难题限制了将实验生物长时间放置在太空环境中，并以能够获取遗传数据的方式进行放置。使用自体受精的雌雄同体线虫秀丽隐杆线虫为设计生物剂量计提供了潜力。在本文中，我们描述了这个模型系统的优势，并回顾了秀丽隐杆线虫在太空方面的文献。
