Eagles sequencing RNA on campus to study the regulation of gene expression in bacteria grown under microgravity conditions

We continue to discover the effects of space conditions on the regulation of gene expression on cells thanks to the use of high-throughput sequencing techniques. The same protocols used to sequence the human genome decades ago are now used to understand how environmental factors like microgravity or increased radiation change the way bacteria grow in space, and in consequence, how they interact with humans. As part of the Aerospace Physiology program, we now have the Omics Lab where we are currently working on sequencing RNA libraries from several experiments exploring the effect long term exposure to microgravity and increased radiation backgrounds on different microbial models such as Escherichia coli, Vibrio fisheri and Chlorella vulgaris. With this new facility on campus we are able to conduct experiments using a microgravity analog in the Space Microbiology Lab, construct and sequence RNA libraries in the Omics Lab and perform a bioinformatic analysis to identify which genes are responsive to our treatment