Apollo-Soyuz Test Project on biorhythm of zone-forming fungi: preliminary work.

The purpose of the experiment was to study general and local effects of space flight factors on the rhythm of cellular activity and on the morphological and genetic properties of biological objects. The Pushchino strain, Actinomyces levoris Kras 17-225A-IBFM, isolated at the Institute of Biological Physics, Moscow, was chosen as the main biological object. Under appropriate conditions it gives distinct and continuous rings of spore formation reflecting its intrinsic high degree of synchronism in changing its reproduction forms seen with the unaided eye as transparent rings (vegetative growth) alternate with convex white rings (spore-formation growth). As an additional test object, a film culture of bacteriophage T4Br+ developed at the institute was used. The strains were placed together in one bioblock together with plastic detectors for detecting nuclear particles. The film culture of bacteriophage enabled us to amplify the area of registration of local radiation effects by studying the genetic effects of these: frequency of mutations, induced radiation, their spectrum, subsequent revertability under the action of chemical mutagens with known mechanisms of action on DNA molecules.

Biological investigations of higher and lower plants aboard Soyuz 19.

Biological investigations carried out aboard Soyuz 19 consisted of three independent complex experiments. All biological materials aboard the spacecraft were kept in "Biocat" thermostats which maintained the required temperature. The objective of the experiment "Genetic investigations" was to determine the effect of space flight factors on the heredity of lower (Chlamydomonas reinhardi Dang) and higher (Crepis capillaris (L) Wallr and Arabidopsis thaliana (L) Heynh) plants, and on the radiosensitivity of plant seeds and the radiation effect of prior gamma-irradiation. The space flight factors decreased the survival of Chlamydomonas cells and A. thaliana plants of the first generation. They decreased the germination of seeds, increased the rate of chlorophyll mutations and embryonal lethals, produced no effect on the rate of visible mutations in unicellular algae, increased the rate of chromosome aberrations in root meristem cells C. capillaris, induced disturbances in mitosis of unicellular algae and modified the effect of prior gamma-irradiation. The experiment "Growth of micro-organisms" was conducted with a culture of Proteus vulgaris in a growth chamber. After return to the laboratory the experimental and control variants were studied for twenty-two tests. The control and experimental material differed in the average cell size, biomass distribution, the character of haemotaxis, the rate of cell migration over the substratum surface, dehydrogenase activity, ribosomal aggregation, and ultrastructural peculiarities of cells. The experiment "Embryological investigations" was carried out to study the effect of space flight factors on embryogenesis of the bony fish Brachyodanio rerio. No abnormalities were noted in the course or rate of the development of spawn cultivated in a special thermostat.

Biological experiments on the orbital station Salyut 4.

Two series of experiments were carried out on the orbital station Salyut 4: one series consisted of two experiments (30 and 62 days respectively) designed to study the effect of space-flight factors on the growth and development of Drosophila melanogaster, strain D-32, and the second series consisted of two experiments (24-33 days) designed to study the effect of space-flight factors on the growth and development of the dwarf pea, variety "Pioneer". Analysis of the progeny from flies exposed to space flight showed an increase in the rate of visible mutations for y, ct, w and vg loci over those observed in the earth control. Space flight factors produced no noticeable effect on the first growth stages of pea plants. Later on growth stopped and most of the plants died under weightless conditions at the age of 2-3 weeks. Possible causes of their death during flight are discussed on the basis of anatomo-morphological, cytological and biochemical analyses of experimental and control plants.