Space omics research in Europe: Contributions, geographical distribution and ESA member state funding schemes

How to obtain an integrated picture of the molecular networks involved in adaptation to microgravity in different biological systems?

Periodically, the European Space Agency (ESA) updates scientific roadmaps in consultation with the scientific community. The ESA SciSpacE Science Community White Paper (SSCWP) 9, "Biology in Space and Analogue Environments", focusses in 5 main topic areas, aiming to address key community-identified knowledge gaps in Space Biology. Here we present one of the identified topic areas, which is also an unanswered question of life science research in Space: "How to Obtain an Integrated Picture of the Molecular Networks Involved in Adaptation to Microgravity in Different Biological Systems?" The manuscript reports the main gaps of knowledge which have been identified by the community in the above topic area as well as the approach the community indicates to address the gaps not yet bridged. Moreover, the relevance that these research activities might have for the space exploration programs and also for application in industrial and technological fields on Earth is briefly discussed.

Enhancing European capabilities for application of multi-omics studies in biology and biomedicine space research

Following on from the NASA twins' study, there has been a tremendous interest in the use of omics techniques in spaceflight. Individual space agencies, NASA's GeneLab, JAXA's ibSLS, and the ESA-funded Space Omics Topical Team and the International Standards for Space Omics Processing (ISSOP) groups have established several initiatives to support this growth. Here, we present recommendations from the Space Omics Topical Team to promote standard application of space omics in Europe. We focus on four main themes: i) continued participation in and coordination with international omics endeavors, ii) strengthening of the European space omics infrastructure including workforce and facilities, iii) capitalizing on the emerging opportunities in the commercial space sector, and iv) capitalizing on the emerging opportunities in human subjects research.

Caenorhabditis elegans in microgravity: An omics perspective

The application of omics to study Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) in the context of spaceflight is increasing, illuminating the wide-ranging biological impacts of spaceflight on physiology. In this review, we highlight the application of omics, including transcriptomics, genomics, proteomics, multi-omics, and integrated omics in the study of spaceflown C. elegans, and discuss the impact, use, and future direction of this branch of research. We highlight the variety of molecular alterations that occur in response to spaceflight, most notably changes in metabolic and neuromuscular gene regulation. These transcriptional features are reproducible and evident across many spaceflown species (e.g., mice and astronauts), supporting the use of C. elegans as a model organism to study spaceflight physiology with translational capital. Integrating tissue-specific, spatial, and multi-omics approaches, which quantitatively link molecular responses to phenotypic adaptations, will facilitate the identification of candidate regulatory molecules for therapeutic intervention and thus represents the next frontiers in C. elegans space omics research.

Skeletal muscle gene expression dysregulation in long-term spaceflights and aging is clock-dependent

The circadian clock regulates cellular and molecular processes in mammals across all tissues including skeletal muscle, one of the largest organs in the human body. Dysregulated circadian rhythms are characteristic of aging and crewed spaceflight, associated with, for example, musculoskeletal atrophy. Molecular insights into spaceflight-related alterations of circadian regulation in skeletal muscle are still missing. Here, we investigated potential functional consequences of clock disruptions on skeletal muscle using published omics datasets obtained from spaceflights and other clock-altering, external (fasting and exercise), or internal (aging) conditions on Earth. Our analysis identified alterations of the clock network and skeletal muscle-associated pathways, as a result of spaceflight duration in mice, which resembles aging-related gene expression changes observed in humans on Earth (e.g., ATF4 downregulation, associated with muscle atrophy). Furthermore, according to our results, external factors such as exercise or fasting lead to molecular changes in the core-clock network, which may compensate for the circadian disruption observed during spaceflights. Thus, maintaining circadian functioning is crucial to ameliorate unphysiological alterations and musculoskeletal atrophy reported among astronauts.