Astronauts conducted the first DNA sequencing in space
Sergey Vasiliev, Naked Science, based on NASA materials: First DNA Sequencing in Space a Game Changer
An unusual experiment carried out on board the ISS confirmed the performance of a portable sequencer in microgravity conditions.
The work in orbit was carried out by astronaut Kathleen Rubins (Kathleen Rubins), one of the specialties is a molecular biologist. She was assisted by Matthias Maurer. The MinION mobile sequencer, a device for reading nucleotide sequences in DNA, was developed by the British company Oxford Nanopore Technologies. It works using a cell filled with a conductive electrolyte, separated by a thin impermeable membrane with pores of the order of a nanometer in diameter. DNA fragments can pass through pores and, depending on their size and nucleotide composition, they will change the electrical properties of the cell in different ways, which is recorded by the most accurate sensors.
The MinION portable nanopore sequencer is a perfect device the size of a chocolate bar and works in a matter of minutes. He performed remarkably well in the field, during the epidemics of Ebola and Zika viruses, but his performance in microgravity had yet to be confirmed. Liquids and bubbles behave completely differently in space, and this could affect the effectiveness of the modern nanopore sequencing method. However, it worked.
Using MinION, Caitlin Rubins successfully sequenced DNA extracted from mouse cells, bacteria and viruses. The same samples were preserved on Earth, where they were sequenced using the same sequencer by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco. The obtained results coincided, showing that sequencing is also possible in space.
Caitlin Rubins with the MinION sequencer (below the screen) / ©NASA
Soon, genetic analysis of living organisms will be established directly on board the ISS without sending samples to Earth. In the more distant future, such work will become an important element of monitoring the epidemiological situation in long-term manned missions. And perhaps someday it will allow the identification of the first extraterrestrial organisms.
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01.09.2016