Molecular Cytogenetics of Pisum sativum L. Grown under Spaceflight-Related Stress.

Olga Yu Yurkevich,Sergei A Surzhikov,Tatiana E Samatadze,Svyatoslav A Zoshchuk,Vladimir N Sychev,Alexandra V Amosova,Olga V Muravenko,Olga B Signalova,Margarita A Levinskikh

doi:10.1155/2018/4549294

Olga Yu Yurkevich, Sergei A Surzhikov + Show 7 more

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https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/4549294

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Abstract

The ontogenesis and reproduction of plants cultivated aboard a spacecraft occur inside the unique closed ecological system wherein plants are subjected to serious abiotic stresses. For the first time, a comparative molecular cytogenetic analysis of Pisum sativum L. (Fabaceae) grown on board the RS ISS during the Expedition-14 and Expedition-16 and also plants of their succeeding (F1 and F2) generations cultivated on Earth was performed in order to reveal possible structural chromosome changes in the pea genome. The karyotypes of these plants were studied by multicolour fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with five different repeated DNA sequences (45S rDNA, 5S rDNA, PisTR-B/1, microsatellite motifs (AG)12, and (GAA)9) as probes. A chromosome aberration was revealed in one F1 plant. Significant changes in distribution of the examined repeated DNAs in karyotypes of the “space grown” pea plants as well as in F1 and F2 plants cultivated on Earth were not observed if compared with control plants. Additional oligo-(GAA)9 sites were detected on chromosomes 6 and 7 in karyotypes of F1 and F2 plants. The detected changes might be related to intraspecific genomic polymorphism or plant cell adaptive responses to spaceflight-related stress factors. Our findings suggest that, despite gradual total trace contamination of the atmosphere on board the ISS associated with the extension of the space station operating life, exposure to the space environment did not induce serious chromosome reorganizations in genomes of the “space grown” pea plants and generations of these plants cultivated on Earth.

Highlights

The presence of growing plants aboard a spacecraft is important for creating and supporting a sustainable living environment during long-term space missions, and in the near future plant systems will become important components of any long-duration exploration scenario
The experiment carried out during the International Space Station (ISS)-14 showed that the plant vegetation period was about 80 days which was 10-12 days longer than it had been observed in the control ground experiments
The experiment carried out during ISS-16 showed that the plant vegetation period was about 65-70 days which was roughly comparable with the results of the control ground experiments

Summary

Introduction

The presence of growing plants aboard a spacecraft is important for creating and supporting a sustainable living environment during long-term space missions, and in the near future plant systems will become important components of any long-duration exploration scenario. The ontogenesis and reproduction of plants occur inside the unique closed ecological system wherein plants undergo serious abiotic stress which can be induced by a number of factors including changes in gravity, radiations, vibration, aboard air composition with limited exchange of gases, humidity, nutrients, temperature, and light. They are often associated with reprogramming of gene expression and can influence plant growth, development, and yield [1,2,3]. Chemical contamination of the artificial atmosphere aboard a spacecraft can influence the growth and development of plants cultivated there [1, 5, 14]

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