Omics technologies in spaceflight : challenges and considerations for applying single-cell and spatially resolved gene expression technologies to samples collected in-flight

Abstract

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and spatially resolved transcriptomics (SRT) have experienced rapid development in recent years. The findings of spaceflight-based scRNA-seq and SRT investigations are likely to improve our understanding of life in space and our comprehension of gene expression in various cell systems and tissue dynamics. However, compared to their Earth-based counterparts, gene expression experiments conducted in spaceflight have not experienced the same pace of development. Out of the hundreds of spaceflight gene expression datasets available, only five used scRNA-seq and two used SRT. One principal factor driving this disparity are the special considerations in tissue preservation that are essential for collecting high-quality data. Advancing cell and tissue preservation protocols during spaceflight can increase the quality of data obtained and enable further scRNA-seq and SRT experiments. Additionally, the growing spectrum of computational tools for SRT can help inform which SRT method is optimal for experiment goals and can assist the selection of preservation methods to use during flight. In this paper we explore the growing importance of scRNA-seq and SRT in space biology and present investigators with the challenges and considerations relevant to robust experimental design.