We carried out in situ observation of the feeding process of edible shrimp under microgravity environment. To realize that condition, we developed a new type of clinostat with high-speed rotation, with a maximum rotation of 130 rpm. This rotation speed is much faster than that of conventional models. Under that rotation speed, aquatic organisms such as fish and crustaceans have a suppressed capability of recovering their proper swimming form, making it possible for them to be exposed to a pseudo-weightless condition. By this method, we could successfully observe the feeding process of shrimp in that condition. We also performed a genetic analysis of shrimp exposed to microgravity for 24 h. The results of gene ontology analysis suggested that the effects of exposure to weightlessness were significant, as compared with control shrimp. We believe that the high-speed clinostat will contribute greatly to the future progress of engineering applications in microgravity research.
Research papers (academic journals)
