Arabidopsis Transcriptomic Response to Spaceflight in Light and Dark Conditions

The Characterizing Arabidopsis Root Attractions (CARA) experiment provides comparative transcriptome analyses of three Arabidopsis genotypes grown in light and dark conditions on the International Space Station. The dataset, from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was last updated in March 2026. It details differentially expressed genes in leaves and root tips, highlighting the role of light signaling in acclimation to the spaceflight environment.

Use Cases

• Identify key spaceflight-responsive genes based on differential expression analysis in leaves and root tips.
• Compare transcriptomic adaptation patterns between light and dark growth conditions in a microgravity environment.
• Analyze the role of phytochrome D signaling in plant spaceflight response based on mutant genotype data.
• Study interactions between light-signaling, defense, and oxidative stress pathways in spaceflight acclimation.

Strengths

• Data originates from a controlled spaceflight experiment on the International Space Station.
• Comparative analysis includes three distinct Arabidopsis genotypes (Col-0, Ws, phyD mutant).
• Experimental design includes both ambient light and dark conditions within the same flight.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is provided in a BIN file format, which may require specialized tools for access.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Transcriptome analysis from the CARA spaceflight experiment on the International Space Station.

Time Range

Experiment date range is not specified.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 20:02:11.319985; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Data collected from plants grown on the International Space Station.