[14]

COMPARISON OF NUTRIENT DELIVERY SYSTEMS FOR GROWTH OF ARABIDOPSIS PLANTS IN SPACE.  Swati Mohan^a, Anna-Lisa Paul^b, Howard G. Levine^c, Robert J. Ferl^b.  ^aCornell University, ^bUniversity of Florida, ^cDynamac Corporation, Kennedy Space Center 

     Investigating the responses of plants in microgravity conditions can help us plan for long-term space missions in which plants contribute to the advanced life support system (ALS).  This experiment involved the evaluation of four different types of nutrient delivery systems to determine which system maximizes growth, minimizes stress, and effectively occupies the flight hardware.  Transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants coding the Adh driver and GFP reporter were grown in four support systems: agar plates, agar tubes, porous tube systems, and tubes filled with glass beads of six different sizes.  The value of the system was measured by three criteria: analysis of leaf and root mass, chlorophyll content as a qualitative measure of vigor, and effective organization within the Plant Growth Facility (PGF-SP and PGF).  The results of the experiment showed that each system was a viable option for ALS, although the Fibrous Ion Exchange Resin Substrate (FIERS) treatment of the porous tube system and the agar tubes performed the best.  Modifications should be made to the glass beads and porous tube systems to account for errors in the procedure because the systems were being tested for the first time.

     (Supported by NASA’s Spaceflight and Life Sciences Training Program (SLSTP))