Plant cell proliferation and growth are altered by microgravity conditions in spaceflight

Matı́a, Isabel; González-Camacho, Fernando; Herranz, Raúl; Kiss, John Z.; Gasset, G.; Loon, Jack J. W. A. van; Marco, Roberto de; Medina, F. Javier

doi:10.1016/j.jplph.2009.08.012

Cited by 134 publications

(138 citation statements)

References 56 publications

(74 reference statements)

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“…For each position and for each sampling time, the analysis consisted of biometrical estimations of the seedling and root length, quantitative measurements at the cellular level, including number of cells per millimeter in specific cell files, in order to get an estimate of the cell proliferation rate, quantitative densitometric estimations of the expression of cyclin B1 gene, and morphometric, ultrastructural, and immunocytochemical study of the nucleolus, in order to know the rate of ribosome biogenesis, which, as previously indicated, is a fully reliable marker of cell growth in the root meristem. All these results were in agreement with the previous findings in spaceflight, 4 thus validating the magnetic levitation technology as a microgravity simulation facility. Certainly, the high magnetic field responsible for the gravity alteration perceived by samples was capable of partially masking some of the levitation effects.…”

supporting

confidence: 91%

“…Cell proliferation and growth in root meristematic cells were analyzed in the different samples. In both real and simulated microgravity, a similar enhanced rate of cell proliferation was revealed, accompanied by a reduction of ribosome biogenesis per cell, compared with 1g controls 4 ; ribosome biogenesis is generally recognized as a reliable indicator of cell growth in highly proliferative meristematic cells. 5,6 These were relevant findings, since the alteration of cell growth and proliferation in the root meristem (the so-called "meristematic competence" 7 ) may have consequences at the level of development and shaping of the whole plant.…”

mentioning

confidence: 78%

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Mechanisms of disruption of meristematic competence by microgravity inArabidopsisseedlings

Herranz

Valbuena

Youssef

et al. 2014

Plant Signaling & Behavior

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confidence: 91%

mentioning

confidence: 78%

Mechanisms of disruption of meristematic competence by microgravity inArabidopsisseedlings

Herranz

Valbuena

Youssef

et al. 2014

Plant Signaling & Behavior

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“…Humans require significant countermeasure interventions to reduce the negative impacts of microgravity on bone and muscle tissue (Baldwin et al 1996); it stands to reason that crop plants making up part of a bioregenerative life-support system may also benefit from microgravity countermeasures. In the absence of a significant gravity vector plant cell walls and, by elaboration, supporting tissues (e.g., branches supporting fruit) can be modified, although consensus on the degree and direction of the modifications is elusive (de Micco et al 2008, Ferl et al 2002, Hoson 2014, Levine et al 2001, Matía et al 2010, Ruyters & Braun 2013. Very little (if any) research has examined the effects of direct mechanical stimuli on crop plants in a microgravity setting.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanical Stimulation Modifies Canopy Architecture and Improves Volume Utilization Efficiency in Bell Pepper: Implications for Bioregenerative Life-support and Vertical Farming

Graham

Wheeler

2017

Open Agriculture

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Open Agriculture. 2017; 2: 42-51 vertical system requirements or by expanding the species range that can be grown in a fixed production volume. Mechanical stimulation is also discussed as a microgravity countermeasure for crop plants.Keywords: Thigmomorphogenesis, Plant Dwarfing, Capsicum annum 'California Wonder', Advanced LifeSupport, Vertical Agriculture IntroductionIt has long been recognized that mechanical stimulation (MS; stress), such as wind action, rubbing, constriction, shaking, and encounters with physical barriers can have a dramatic influence on plant morphological development (Biddington 1986, Darwin 1880, Jaffe 1973, Mitchell et al. 1975, Mitchell 1977. Jaffe (1973) demonstrated that daily MS to partially mature internode tissue, applied by rubbing stem tissue between two fingers, could induce dramatic reductions in internode length resulting in dwarf phenotypes in a range of crop species. Jaffe (1973) coined the term thigmomorphogenesis, (thigma being the Greek word for touch) to describe these long term morphological responses to touch. Over the ensuing 40 years many others have followed up on Jaffe's work, notably amongst others, Cary Mitchell's group at Purdue (West Lafayette, IN, USA), Joyce Latimer at Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA, USA), and Janet Braam at Rice University (Houston, TX, USA). It is now known that thigmomorphogenesis includes a wide range of responses including, but not limited to, shortening of internodes, stem thickening, reduced leaf expansion, changes in chlorophyll content, and alterations in plant hormone levels (Beyl & Mitchell 1983, Biddington 1986, Braam 2005, Chehab et al. 2008, Latimer et al. 1991, Mitchell & Myers 1995, Monshausen & Haswell 2013. Abstract: Mechanical stimuli or stress has been shown to induce characteristic morphogenic responses (thigmomorphogenesis) in a range of crop species. The typical mechanically stimulated phenotype is shorter and more compact than non-mechanically stimulated plants. This dwarfing effect can be employed to help conform crop plants to the constraints of spaceflight and vertical agriculture crop production systems. Capsicum annum (cv. California Wonder) plants were grown in controlled environment chambers and subjected to mechanical stimulation in the form of firm but gentle daily rubbing of internode tissue with a tightly wrapped cotton swab. Two studies were conducted, the first being a vegetative growth phase study in which plants were mechanically stimulated until anthesis. The second study carried the mechanical stimulation through to fruit set. The response during the vegetative growth experiment was consistent with other results in the literature, with a general reduction in all plant growth metrics and an increase in relative chlorophyll (SPAD) content under mechanical stimulation. In the fruiting phase study, only height and stem thickness differed from the control plants. Using the data from the fruiting study, a rudimentary calculation of volume use efficiency (VUE) improvements was conducted. Results suggest t...

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“…Adventitious roots develop from the pericycle, a site of intense mitotic activity. Since previous spaceflight studies have shown that cells in microgravity have an enhanced proliferation rate (Matía et al, 2010), it is possible that microgravity induced an increase in mitosis in the pericycle, which led to the expression of a larger number of adventitious roots in the space-grown plants compared to the control. Taken together, the previous and present studies suggest that the growth of plants in microgravity induces alterations in essential cellular functions that may be related to cell cycle regulation (reviewed in Wolverton and Kiss, 2009).…”

Section: Exaggerated Skewing Of Roots and Increased Adventitious Rootmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Endogenous Growth Pattern of Roots Is Revealed in Seedlings Grown in Microgravity

Millar

Johnson²,

Edelmann³

et al. 2011

Astrobiology

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In plants, sensitive and selective mechanisms have evolved to perceive and respond to light and gravity. We investigated the effects of microgravity on the growth and development of Arabidopsis thaliana (ecotype Landsberg) in a spaceflight experiment. These studies were performed with the Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) hardware system in the middeck region of the space shuttle during mission STS-131 in April 2010. Seedlings were grown on nutrient agar in Petri dishes in BRIC hardware under dark conditions and then fixed in flight with paraformaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, or RNAlater. Although the long-term objective was to study the role of the actin cytoskeleton in gravity perception, in this article we focus on the analysis of morphology of seedlings that developed in microgravity. While previous spaceflight studies noted deleterious morphological effects due to the accumulation of ethylene gas, no such effects were observed in seedlings grown with the BRIC system. Seed germination was 89% in the spaceflight experiment and 91% in the ground control, and seedlings grew equally well in both conditions. However, roots of space-grown seedlings exhibited a significant difference (compared to the ground controls) in overall growth patterns in that they skewed to one direction. In addition, a greater number of adventitious roots formed from the axis of the hypocotyls in the flight-grown plants. Our hypothesis is that an endogenous response in plants causes the roots to skew and that this default growth response is largely masked by the normal 1 g conditions on Earth.

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Plant cell proliferation and growth are altered by microgravity conditions in spaceflight

Cited by 134 publications

References 56 publications

Mechanisms of disruption of meristematic competence by microgravity inArabidopsisseedlings

Mechanisms of disruption of meristematic competence by microgravity inArabidopsisseedlings

Mechanical Stimulation Modifies Canopy Architecture and Improves Volume Utilization Efficiency in Bell Pepper: Implications for Bioregenerative Life-support and Vertical Farming

An Endogenous Growth Pattern of Roots Is Revealed in Seedlings Grown in Microgravity

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