A novel blue-light phototropic response is revealed in roots of Arabidopsis thaliana in microgravity

Vandenbrink, Joshua P.; Herranz, Raúl; Medina, F. Javier; Edelmann, Richard E.; Kiss, John Z.

doi:10.1007/s00425-016-2581-8

Cited by 49 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 60 publications

(64 reference statements)

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“…Our recent spaceflight study also identified an association between the red‐light phototropic response in roots and the magnitude of the gravity vector (Vandenbrink et al., ). In terms of cell growth and cell proliferation, it has been shown that when seedlings are grown in darkness, there is a lack of balance between these key plant development functions in microgravity (Matía et al., ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 78%

“…This observation suggests that there is an interaction between gravity and the light harvesting machinery at a genetic level. This proposed interaction between gravity and light‐related pathways may help explain the novel blue‐light phototropic response in roots of Arabidopsis grown in microgravity (Vandenbrink et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Image analysis of seedlings grown during the seedling growth suite of experiments previously characterized a novel blue‐light phototropic response in roots of Arabidopsis thaliana grown in conditions of microgravity (Vandenbrink et al., ). This relationship was shown to be linearly related to the magnitude of the gravity vector.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, our previous study found that light perception by the roots had an effect on shoot gravitropic response in Arabidopsis thaliana (Hopkins and Kiss, ). In addition, phototropic curvature of roots in response to blue light illumination was shown to be intimately tied to the magnitude of the gravity vector (Vandenbrink et al., ).…”

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confidence: 99%

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RNA‐seq analyses of Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings after exposure to blue‐light phototropic stimuli in microgravity

Vandenbrink

Herranz

Poehlman

et al. 2019

American J of Botany

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Kiss. 2019. RNA-seq analyses of Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings after exposure to blue-light phototropic stimuli in microgravity. PREMISE: Plants synthesize information from multiple environmental stimuli when determining their direction of growth. Gravity, being ubiquitous on Earth, plays a major role in determining the direction of growth and overall architecture of the plant. Here, we utilized the microgravity environment on board the International Space Station (ISS) to identify genes involved influencing growth and development of phototropically stimulated seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana.METHODS: Seedlings were grown on the ISS, and RNA was extracted from 7 samples (pools of 10-15 plants) grown in microgravity (μg) or Earth gravity conditions (1-g). Transcriptomic analyses via RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) of differential gene expression was performed using the HISAT2-Stringtie-DESeq2 RNASeq pipeline. Differentially expressed genes were further characterized by using Pathway Analysis and enrichment for Gene Ontology classifications. RESULTS:For 296 genes that were found significantly differentially expressed between plants in microgravity compared to 1-g controls, Pathway Analysis identified eight molecular pathways that were significantly affected by reduced gravity conditions. Specifically, light-associated pathways (e.g., photosynthesis-antenna proteins, photosynthesis, porphyrin, and chlorophyll metabolism) were significantly downregulated in microgravity. CONCLUSIONS:Gene expression in A. thaliana seedlings grown in microgravity was significantly altered compared to that of the 1-g control. Understanding how plants grow in conditions of microgravity not only aids in our understanding of how plants grow and respond to the environment but will also help to efficiently grow plants during long-range space missions. ACKNOWLEDGMENTSFunding was provided by grants NNX12A065G and 80NSSC17K0546 from NASA (PI = J. Z. Kiss). We thank the reviewers for insightful comments and review in preparation of this manuscript. DATA AVAILABILITYAll sequences generated in this study are deposited in NASA GenLab (https ://genel ab.nasa.gov/) as data set GLDS 251. SUPPORTING INFORMATIONAdditional Supporting Information may be found online in the supporting information tab for this article. APPENDIX S1. FASTQC results for pooled sample #111: microgravity (A) forward and (B) reverse paired-end reads. APPENDIX S2. FASTQC results for pooled sample #114: microgravity (A) forward and (B) reverse paired-end reads. APPENDIX S3. FASTQC results for pooled sample #116: microgravity (A) forward and (B) reverse paired-end reads. APPENDIX S4. FASTQC results for pooled sample #120: microgravity (A) forward and (B) reverse paired-end reads. APPENDIX S5. FASTQC results for pooled sample #175: 1-g (A) forward and (B) reverse paired-end reads.APPENDIX S6. FASTQC results for pooled sample # 179: 1-g (A) forward and (B) reverse paired-end reads. APPENDIX S7. FASTQC results for pooled sample # 235-239: 1-g (A) forward and (B) reverse paired-end reads. AP...

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mentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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RNA‐seq analyses of Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings after exposure to blue‐light phototropic stimuli in microgravity

Vandenbrink

Herranz

Poehlman

et al. 2019

American J of Botany

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“…Seeds were hydrated and germinated in the European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) using the culture chambers (cassettes) previously developed for the "Tropi" experiments (Correll et al 2005). After germination, all seedlings grew in these cassettes for 4 days under continuous white light illumination supplied by an array of LED lights placed in one of the walls of the cassette and 1g gravity, provided by in the EMCS centrifuge, with the gravity vector pointing to the opposite direction of the white light source (Kiss et al 2012;Vandenbrink et al 2016). Then, seedlings grew for two additional days at the g-level of interest in six runs.…”

Section: Plant Materials and The Spaceflight Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The combined effects of real or simulated microgravity and red-light photoactivation on plant root meristematic cells

Valbuena

Manzano

Vandenbrink

et al. 2018

Planta

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Red light is able to compensate for deleterious effects of microgravity on root cell growth and proliferation. Partial gravity combined with red light produces differential signals during the early plant development. Light and gravity are environmental cues used by plants throughout evolution to guide their development. We have investigated the cross-talk between phototropism and gravitropism under altered gravity in space. The focus was on the effects on the meristematic balance between cell growth and proliferation, which is disrupted under microgravity in the dark. In our spaceflight experiments, seedlings of three Arabidopsis thaliana genotypes, namely the wild type and mutants of phytochrome A and B, were grown for 6 days, including red-light photoactivation for the last 2 days. Apart from the microgravity and the 1g on-board control conditions, fractional gravity (nominally 0.1g, 0.3g, and 0.5g) was created with on-board centrifuges. In addition, a simulated microgravity (random positioning machine, RPM) experiment was performed on ground, including both dark-grown and photostimulated samples. Photoactivated samples in spaceflight and RPM experiments showed an increase in the root length consistent with phototropic response to red light, but, as gravity increased, a gradual decrease in this response was observed. Uncoupling of cell growth and proliferation was detected under microgravity in darkness by transcriptomic and microscopic methods, but red-light photoactivation produced a significant reversion. In contrast, the combination of red light and partial gravity produced small but consistent variations in the molecular markers of cell growth and proliferation, suggesting an antagonistic effect between light and gravity signals at the early plant development. Understanding these parameters of plant growth and development in microgravity will be important as bioregenerative life support systems for the colonization of the Moon and Mars.

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Plants in Space: Novel Physiological Challenges and Adaptation Mechanisms

et al. 2021

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Any space exploration initiative, such as the human presence in the Moon and Mars, must incorporate plants for life support. To enable space plant culture we need to understand how plants respond to extraterrestrial conditions, adapt to them and compensate their deleterious effects at multiple levels. Gravity is a major difference between the terrestrial and the extraterrestrial environment. Gravitropism is the process of establishing a growth direction for plant organs according to the gravity vector. Gravity signals are sensed at specialized tissues by the motion of amyloplasts called statoliths and transduced to produce a cellular polarization capable of influencing the transport of auxin. Gravity alterations eventually result in changes in the lateral balance of auxin in the root, producing deviations of the growth direction. Under microgravity, auxin changes affect the root meristem causing increased cell proliferation and decreased cell growth. The nucleolus, the nuclear site of production of ribosomes, is a marker of this unbalance, which could alter plant development. At the molecular level, microgravity induces a reprogramming of gene expression that mostly affects plant defense systems against abiotic stresses, indicating that these categories of genes are involved in the adaptation to extraterrestrial habitats. Nevertheless, no specific genes for plant response to gravitational stress have been identified. Despite this stress, plants survive, developing until the adult stage and reproducing under microgravity conditions. A major research challenge is to identify environmental factors, such as light, which could interact, modulate or balance the impact of gravity, contributing to the tolerance and survival of plants under spaceflight conditions. Understanding the crosstalk between light and gravity sensing will contribute to the success of the next generation agriculture in human settlements outside the Earth. Plants are needed for space exploration: Space Plant Biology."Je ne sais pas si les mondes sont habités, et, comme je ne le sais pas, je vais y voir!" ("I do not know if the worlds are inhabited, and, as I do not know that, I'll go there and see!") -Jules Verne, "From the Earth to the Moon" (1867).This quote, from one of the most famous books by Jules Verne, which was written more than a century and a half ago, reflects an intense human dream, which, at the same time is a major challenge for the humankind: to go out of our planet Earth and see how are "the other worlds", in particular, whether we, as living beings and, especially, as intelligent living beings, are alone in the Universe, or we have companions with whom we can interact. Science-fiction literature is full of stories talking about the relationships between humans and aliens, whether they are peaceful or hostile.In 2019, the entire world has commemorated the 50 th anniversary of the first human footprint on the surface of the Moon, and in 2020, the twenty years of the continuous presence of humans as crew members of the International S...

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A novel blue-light phototropic response is revealed in roots of Arabidopsis thaliana in microgravity

Cited by 49 publications

References 60 publications

RNA‐seq analyses of Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings after exposure to blue‐light phototropic stimuli in microgravity

RNA‐seq analyses of Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings after exposure to blue‐light phototropic stimuli in microgravity

The combined effects of real or simulated microgravity and red-light photoactivation on plant root meristematic cells

Plants in Space: Novel Physiological Challenges and Adaptation Mechanisms

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