Transgenic Arabidopsis Gene Expression System – Intracellular Signaling Architecture (APEX-03-2 TAGES-Isa)

On Earth, plants use gravity, moisture, and light to determine which way to grow, but the microgravity environment of space causes them to develop different growth habits. The Transgenic Arabidopsis Gene Expression System - Intracellular Signaling Architecture (APEX-03-2 TAGES-Isa) investigation studies thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) seedlings grown in microgravity, examining the molecular changes that affect their growth. Results provide new insight into how plants respond to extraterrestrial environments, which improves the research for growing food and producing oxygen on future space missions.

The experiment has concluded, and science is being evaluated.

Plants experiencing spaceflight are quite normal in appearance but can exhibit growth habits distinctly different from plants on earth. This research explores the molecular biology guiding the altered growth of plants in spaceflight.

Transgenic Arabidopsis Gene Expression System - Intracellular Signaling Architecture (APEX-03-2 TAGES-Isa) specifically addresses the growth and molecular changes that occur in Arabidopsis thaliana plants during spaceflight. By using molecular and genetic tools, fundamental questions regarding root structure, growth and cell wall remodeling may be answered.

This investigation advances the fundamental understanding of the molecular biological responses to extraterrestrial environments. This understanding helps to further define the impacts of spaceflight on biological systems to better enable NASA’s future space exploration goals.

Plants grown in space are different from those grown on Earth, yet these differences have been hard to study, because each spaceflight is different and experimental hardware continually changes. Previous investigations by the TAGES-ISA team pioneered methods to harvest and preserve plant specimens in space, and the investigation builds on previous plant growth experiments, providing a stronger comparison for plant biologists. Results from this investigation improve scientists’ understanding of the cellular and molecular changes taking place in plants grown in space. This provides fundamental insight for future missions, including efforts to grow food for journeys beyond low-Earth orbit.

Understanding how plants change in response to their environments provides fundamental insight into plant biology. Results from this investigation have implications for improving agricultural and biomass production, benefiting people on Earth.

Space Station Research Explorer