Finding micro vegetable varieties that can be cultivated in extreme environmental contexts, such as space missions, is an ideal solution, especially for supplying astronauts with fresh food during their travels and staying in space. But growing vegetables in space faces many challenges, the biggest of all being the limited availability of energy resources, especially light - which is crucial for the growth and proper development of plants.
However, the researchers managed to isolate microgreens capable of germinating in the dark by identifying a molecular mechanism that promotes their growth independently of light. Cardamine hirsuta, more commonly known as bitter hairy cress, is a model plant with micro-vegetable characteristics capable of germinating independently of light. It owes this ability to high levels of Gibberellic Acid (GA), a hormone present in all plants and responsible for their growth, and the regulator DAG1, which is involved in the process independently of light conditions.
The results will make it possible to transfer this knowledge to other microgreens via TEA technology (assisted evolution techniques), increasing the number of plant products available to astronauts and bringing the colonisation of other planets closer.
New perspectives for the development of more resilient crops
The study also shows that it will be possible to explore new perspectives for the development of more resilient crops that can adapt to increasingly complex environmental contexts due to climate change:
Today, environmental issues involve society in all its components, making it necessary to develop alternative strategies to make crops sustainable and adaptable to new climatic conditions. The generation of plants of agronomic interest whose seeds are capable of germinating under sub-optimal conditions would therefore represent an important milestone for the generation of crops tolerant to environmental changes", says Raffaele Dello Ioio, one of the coordinators of the study.
The study was developed in collaboration with the Institute of Experimental Botany, the Italian Space Agency and the Department of Biology of the University of Pisa.
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