The growth regulation characteristics of plants are investigated when plant seeds are irradiated with atmospheric discharge plasma. Enhancement of the germination and lengths of the stem and root of plants are observed after seeding. The total length of the stem and root increases approximately 1.6 times after a cultivation period of 72 h. The growth regulation effect is found to be maintained for 80 h of cultivation after seeding. The growth regulation originates from the change in the antioxidative activity of plant cells induced by active oxygen species generated in the oxygen plasma, which leads to the production of growth factor in plants.

The mechanism of growth enhancement induced by active oxygen species generated in an oxygen plasma is investigated. The plant growth enhancement induced by the active oxygen species would relate to an antioxidative activity, which is one of the biological responses. The amount of generated active oxygen species is varied by the oxygen gas pressure in a low-pressure RF glow discharge plasma. The antioxidative activity of sprouts of Brassicaceae induced by the oxygen plasma is maximized at pressures between 30 and 40 Pa, whereas the antioxidative activity becomes small at around 60 and 80 Pa. The pressure dependence of the antioxidative activity of sprout stems is opposite to that of the stem length of the sprouts. The growth enhancement would be induced by the increase in the concentration of active oxygen species in plants owing to the decrease in the amount of antioxidative substances.

Gene expressions in plant seeds irradiated by oxygen plasma were investigated using DNA microarray bioinformatics analysis to clarify the pathways responsible for growth enhancement of plants. Gene expressions involved in photosynthesis and energy production growth enhancement of plants is brought about by epigenetics.

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The characteristics of plant growth enhancement effect and the mechanism of the enhancement induced by plasma irradiation are investigated using various active species in plasma. Active oxygen species in oxygen plasma are effective for growth enhancement of plants. DNA microarray analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana indicates that the genes coding proteins that counter oxidative stresses by eliminating active oxygen species are expressed at significantly high levels. The size of plant cells increases owing to oxygen plasma irradiation. The increases in gene expression levels and cell size suggest that the increase in the expression level of the expansin protein is essential for plant growth enhancement phenomena.