Effect of Spaceflight on Tomato Seed Quality and Biochemical Characteristics of Mature Plants

Abstract

Intensive space exploration includes profound investigations on the effect of weightlessness and cosmic radiation on plant growth and development. Tomato seeds are often used in such experiments though up to date the results have given rather vague information about biochemical changes in mature plants grown from seeds subjected to spaceflight. The effect of half a year of storage in the International Space Station (ISS) on tomato seeds (cultivar Podmoskovny ranny) was studied by analyzing the biochemical characteristics and mineral content of mature plants grown from these seeds both in greenhouse and field conditions. A significant increase was recorded in ascorbic acid, polyphenol and carotenoid contents, and total antioxidant activity (AOA), with higher changes in the field conditions compared to greenhouse. Contrary to control plants, the ones derived from space-stored seeds demonstrated a significant decrease in root AOA. The latter plants also showed a higher yield, but lower content of fruit dry matter, sugars, total dissolved solids and organic acids. The fruits of plants derived from space-stored seeds demonstrated decreased levels of Fe, Cu and taste index. The described results reflect the existence of oxidative stress in mature tomato plants as a long-term consequence of the effect of spaceflight on seed quality, whereas the higher yield may be attributed to genetic modifications.

Evaluation of Factors Affecting Tree and Shrub Bark’s Antioxidant Status

“…On the other hand, attention should be paid to the fact that even the lowest bark AOA values are higher or not different from the correspondent parameters recorded in popular vegetables such as parsley (AOA 44–68 mg GAE g −1 d.w.) [ 17 ], tomatoes (18–23 mg GAE g −1 d.w.) [ 18 ], and onion bulbs (34–58 mg GAE g −1 d.w.) [ 19 ], which proves the expedience of tree bark utilization as a significant source of natural antioxidants. The results presented below are mean values of antioxidant status for bark overall, including the cambium, phloem, and periderm due to difficulties separating these components from rather small tree branches.…”

Peculiarities of biochemical and mineral composition of lettuce <i>Lactuca sativa</i> L. grown from seeds after long-term storage in the International Space Station

“…Интенсивность различий с контрольными растениями разных сортов возрастала в ряду: Петрович > Синтез > Московской парниковый > Пикник. Показательно, что аналогичная закономерность повышения уровня селена в растениях, выращенных из космических семян была также установлена для представителей других семейств растений: Apiaceae, Brassicaceae и Solanaceae [10,11]. Следует отметить, что салат не является аккумулятором селена.…”

“…Изменению подвержены такие показатели растений, как накопление белка [8], моно-и дисахаров, полифенолов, витаминов и других природных антиоксидантов, а также показателя стрессоустойчивости пролина [9] и уровня перекисного окисления липидов [10]. Отдельные исследования указывают на возможность изменения минерального состава растений под действием этих специфических факторов [10,11]. В то же время следует отметить, что хранение семян в условиях космической станции может иметь разнонаправленный характер, ускоряя или ингибируя рост и развитие растений, выращенных из этих семян.…”

Astrovirology: how viruses enhance our understanding of life in the Universe

“…Efforts on the ISS have focused on plants for CO 2 removal and O 2 production, as a source of multivitamins, for urine reuse and to promote psychological well-being ( Dzhos et al, 2021 ). On Earth, plant viruses can be a threat to agriculture, and disease management relies on rapid and accurate viral identification ( Rubio et al, 2020 ).…”

“…However, due to the stress of spaceflight, viral infection of these plants can be hugely influential on functionality. A recent study found that spaceflight factors significantly affect tomato plants ( Dzhos et al, 2021 ), increasing the productivity of the plants and the concentration of some vitamins such as carotenoids, which are important for crew members on long-term space missions. Importantly, plants grown from seeds that were in space for half a year prior to germination were resistant to viral infection.…”