BRIC-21: Bacillus subtilis Transcriptome Data from the International Space Station

NASA's BRIC-21 mission captured the genetic response of Bacillus subtilis to the human spaceflight environment. RNA was extracted from bacteria grown on the International Space Station and matching ground controls for transcriptome analysis. The data is stored in BIN format and was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Identify differentially expressed genes in Bacillus subtilis based on the spaceflight versus ground control comparison.
• Analyze microbial stress response pathways based on the transcriptome profile data.
• Model bacterial adaptation to microgravity based on gene expression changes.
• Compare spaceflight-induced transcriptomic changes to other environmental stressors.

Strengths

• Data originates from a controlled NASA spaceflight experiment on the International Space Station.
• Includes matching ground control samples, enabling direct comparison of spaceflight effects.
• Samples were processed using standardized BRIC-PDFU hardware and frozen at -80°C onboard.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Bacteria were grown in rich-medium using BRIC-PDFU hardware on the ISS, with RNA extracted post-flight for transcriptome analysis.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 19:32:21.169981; freshness should be verified.

Geography

International Space Station and matching ground control locations.