A novel phototropic response to red light is revealed in microgravity

New Phytol. 2010 May;186(3):648-56. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2010.03211.x. Epub 2010 Mar 8.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate phototropism in plants grown in microgravity conditions without the complications of a 1-g environment. Experiments performed on the International Space Station (ISS) were used to explore the mechanisms of both blue-light- and red-light-induced phototropism in plants. This project utilized the European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS), which has environmental controls for plant growth as well as centrifuges for gravity treatments used as a 1-g control. Images captured from video tapes were used to analyze the growth, development, and curvature of Arabidopsis thaliana plants that developed from seed in space. A novel positive phototropic response to red light was observed in hypocotyls of seedlings that developed in microgravity. This response was not apparent in seedlings grown on Earth or in the 1-g control during the space flight. In addition, blue-light-based phototropism had a greater response in microgravity compared with the 1-g control. Although flowering plants are generally thought to lack red light phototropism, our data suggest that at least some flowering plants may have retained a red light sensory system for phototropism. Thus, this discovery may have important implications for understanding the evolution of light sensory systems in plants.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Arabidopsis / growth & development*
  • Arabidopsis / radiation effects*
  • Germination / radiation effects
  • Hypocotyl / growth & development
  • Hypocotyl / radiation effects
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional
  • Light*
  • Mutation / genetics
  • Phototropism / radiation effects*
  • Seedlings / growth & development
  • Seedlings / radiation effects
  • Space Flight
  • Time Factors
  • Weightlessness*