传媒视角

【中国日报】Zebrafish spend record time alive aboard China's space station

Professor Sun Yonghua (front) shows zebrafish disease models to members of his research team in the laboratory at the China Zebrafish Resource Center in Wuhan,Hubei province. CHINA DAILY

The zebrafish that accompanied the Chinese astronauts on last year's Shenzhou XVIII mission set a record for being the longest surviving fish in space,according to the professor researching them.

Sun Yonghua,director of the China Zebrafish Resource Center of the Institute of Hydrobiology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan,Hubei province, said the longevity represents a breakthrough in the cultivation of vertebrates and aquatic plants in space.

"It is the first time that zebrafish have survived for 43 days in such a closed aquatic ecosystem," said Sun, adding that the completely enclosed aquarium enabled unobstructed observation aboard China's Tiangong space station.

On April 25, two male and two female zebrafish along with hornwort aquatic plants from the institute were taken on the Shenzhou XVIII manned space mission to China's space station.

On Nov 4, the crew returned to Earth with their samples.

At the station, astronauts collected water samples and ensured the zebrafish were fed, and observed abnormal behaviors such as the fish swimming upside down, rotating and circling in the microgravity environment, Sun said.

"Previously, German scientists set a record of 16 days for what they called a closed equilibrated biological aquatic ecosystem, but they conducted experiments using swordtail fish," he added.

Scientists and researchers from institute have been using recovered water samples and other samples from closed aquatic ecosystems to analyze the impact of the space environment on the growth, development and behavior of vertebrates, according to Sun.

"Prior to this, the Chinese space station had already achieved the full life cycle cultivation of plants. And this launch of sending zebrafish into space is the first long-term cultivation of vertebrates in the Chinese space station, laying a scientific foundation for our future research on aquatic biology and life medicine in space, and providing scientific support for long-term human stays in orbit and deep space exploration," Sun said.

Wang Gaohong, a researcher at the institute, said that like humans, fish also face adaptability issues when surviving in a space environment.

"Researchers have worked together to create a comprehensive ecosystem, where aquatic plants produce oxygen through photosynthesis to supply fish respiration, and fish excrement provides nutrients to the aquatic plants," he said, adding that they are both producers and consumers, forming a seemingly small and simple but actually complex scientific experimental system.

Sun said the food that zebrafish eat in space was specially developed by the institute.

"The way zebrafish swim and hunt is very different from that on Earth, so the food is like a toothpaste. And it squeezes out a little bit inside for the zebrafish to eat, trying not to give them extra feed as it may worsen the water quality," he said.

Zebrafish are common ornamental small fish, with body lengths from 3 to 5 centimeters, and are named after the blue stripes covering their bodies. They are lively and active, swimming in groups.

Zebrafish reach sexual maturity in three months from birth, and can reproduce throughout the year. A pair of healthy zebrafish can lay over 300 eggs at a time.

"When we take zebrafish to space, we are likely to see them produce the next generation," Sun said.

The professor said zebrafish are a promising model animal, describing them as "mice in the water".

Scientists and researchers are looking into how to reproduce zebrafish in space. The genome similarity between zebrafish and humans is as high as 80 percent, making them an important model for research into human diseases, he said. More than 500 laboratories across the country are carrying out zebrafish and related research and studies, Sun said.

== 实验室与学会 ==
  • == 实验室与学会 ==
  • 水产品种创制与高效养殖全国重点实验室
  • 中国科学院藻类生物学重点实验室
  • 农业部淡水养殖病害防治重点实验室
  • 武汉白暨豚保护基金会
  • 湖北省海洋湖沼学会
  • 中国动物学会原生动物学分会
  • 中国动物学会斑马鱼分会
  • 湖北省暨武汉动物学会
  • 中国水产学会鱼病学专业委员会
  • 中国鱼类学会
== 平台建设 ==
  • == 平台建设 ==
  • “一带一路”海域赤潮数据库
  • 国家水生生物种质资源库
  • 国家斑马鱼资源中心
  • 中国科学院淡水藻种库
  • 中国科学院武汉生命科学大型仪器区域中心
  • 湿地生态系统观测研究野外站联盟
  • 中国科学院水生生物研究所分析测试中心
  • 中国科学院超级计算武汉分中心
  • 水生生物博物馆
== 相关网站推荐 ==
  • == 相关网站推荐 ==
  • 中国科学院
  • 农业农村部
  • 科学技术部
  • 生态环境部
  • 国家自然科学基金委员会
  • 中国科学院武汉分院
  • 湖北省科学技术厅
  • 湖北省生态环境厅
  • 湖北省农业农村厅