Biology undergraduate research experience at the ERAU’s Space Microbiology Laboratory

The Aerospace Physiology program has created opportunities for students to not only get an education on the biological effects of flight and space but also to be trained in advanced research techniques using state-of-the-art equipment. The Space Microbiology Lab studies how “space” conditions regulate microbial physiology and gene expression using microgravity analogs and low activity radiation sources to simulate what space might feel like for bacteria that inhabit spacecraft components and humans. We have performed several experiments with Escherichia coli, Arthrospira platensis, Candida albicans, and Candida parapsilosis (isolated from a space station module and provided to the lab by NASA) using techniques such as microgravity simulation using the Eaglestat, generation of growth curves, chlorophyll extraction and measurement, and nucleic acids extraction, among others. Here we discuss how the results of these experiments contribute to the research objectives of the Space Microbiology Laboratory, to the curriculum of the Microbiology and Molecular and Cell Biology courses, and to our plans for future careers