Secondary metabolism in simulated microgravity and space flight

Abstract

Space flight experiments have suggested that microgravity can affect cellular processes in microorganisms. To simulate the microgravity environment on earth, several models have been developed and applied to examine the effect of microgravity on secondary metabolism. In this paper, studies of effects of space flight on secondary metabolism are exemplified and reviewed along with the advantages and disadvantages of the current models used for simulating microgravity. This discussion is both significant and timely to researchers considering the use of simulated microgravity or space flight to explore effects of weightlessness on secondary metabolism. © 2011 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.