The Effect of One-Year Seed Spaceflight Storage on Yield, Biochemical and Mineral Characteristics of Mature Leafy Vegetables Belonging to Brassicaceae, Apiaceae and Asteraceae Families

Abstract

Spaceflight is known to produce genetic changes in seeds, usually accelerating aging, though species and varietal differences have been poorly investigated. Comparisons were carried out in terms of yield, biochemical characteristics and mineral composition between mature plants grown from seeds subjected to a one-year spaceflight, belonging to Brassicaceae (Brassica juncea and Eruca sativa), Apiaceae (Anethus graveolens, and Coriandrum sativum), and Asteraceae (Lactuca sativa, six cultivars) families, and non-treated control. Among the studied species, only Brassica juncea and Eruca sativa demonstrated a growth stimulation effect caused by seed spaceflight, while significant growth inhibition was recorded in Apiaceae plants and three cultivars of Lactuca sativa L. No differences in the total antioxidant activity (AOA), polyphenol and ascorbic acid content were detected between ‘space-treated’ and control plants. On the contrary, significant decrease in proline accumulation and increase in malonic dialdehyde and photosynthetic pigments levels were shown by Brassicaceae species. The effect of long-term seed spaceflight on the mineral composition of mature plants was reflected in the inhibition of accumulation of all 24 elements analyzed in Apiaceae plants, except for Se, whose concentration was higher in all ‘space-treated’ plants compared to the control. Spaceflight seed storage increased V levels in lettuce and decreased Na accumulation in all the investigated species. The results reveal species-dependent changes in the accumulation of macro-, micro- and toxic elements in Apiaceae, Brassicacea, and Asteraceae representatives due to spaceflight seed storage. The detected differences in plant elemental composition between ‘space’ treatment and control partly explain the corresponding yield gap and suggest a relationship between mineral status and adaptability. The highest beneficial effect of spaceflight seed storage on yield was recorded in Eruca sativa cultivar, Rusalochka.

Effect of Seed Spaceflight Storage on Tomato Fruit Quality and Peel/Pulp Mineral and Antioxidant Distribution

“…Photosynthetic pigment accumulation is closely connected with the intensity of plant development, indicating the efficiency of carbon assimilation. Indeed, the evaluation of the intensity of photo-pigment accumulation in lettuce, Brassicaceae and Apiaceae species grown from the one-year storage of seeds at the ISS demonstrated significant species and varietal differences directly related to plant yield [33]. In the present study, the analysis of photosynthetic pigments showed an increase in the chlorophyll a level only in space-treated cv.…”

“…Information about the effect of seed spaceflight storage on the mineral composition of mature plants is rather scarce. Indeed, a significant decrease in most minerals was recorded in leafy vegetables grown from spaceflight storage seeds, except Se, whose concentration in space-treated plants was significantly higher than in the control ones [33]. The decrease of iron and copper levels in space-treated tomato fruits were also indicated in another work [49].…”

“…Tomato fruit elemental profiling, including Al, As, B, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Se, Sr, V and Zn, was performed on dried homogenized fruit peel and pulp samples using ICP-MS on a quadruple mass-spectrometer Nexion 300D (Perkin Elmer Inc., Shelton, CT, USA) and a Berghof SW-4 DAP-40 microwave digestion system (Berghof Products + Instruments Gmb H, 72, 800 Eningen, Germany), as reported by Kharchenko et al [33].…”