NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Pollination and embryo development in Brassica rapa L. in microgravityPlant reproduction under spaceflight conditions has been problematic in the past. In order to determine what aspect of reproductive development is affected by microgravity, we studied pollination and embryo development in Brassica rapa L. during 16 d in microgravity on the space shuttle (STS-87). Brassica is self-incompatible and requires mechanical transfer of pollen. Short-duration access to microgravity during parabolic flights on the KC-135A aircraft was used initially to confirm that equal numbers of pollen grains could be collected and transferred in the absence of gravity. Brassica was grown in the Plant Growth Facility flight hardware as follows. Three chambers each contained six plants that were 13 d old at launch. As these plants flowered, thin colored tape was used to indicate the date of hand pollination, resulting in silique populations aged 8-15 d postpollination at the end of the 16-d mission. The remaining three chambers contained dry seeds that germinated on orbit to produce 14-d-old plants just beginning to flower at the time of landing. Pollen produced by these plants had comparable viability (93%) with that produced in the 2-d-delayed ground control. Matched-age siliques yielded embryos of equivalent developmental stage in the spaceflight and ground control treatments. Carbohydrate and protein storage reserves in the embryos, assessed by cytochemical localization, were also comparable. In the spaceflight material, growth and development by embryos rescued from siliques 15 d after pollination lagged behind the ground controls by 12 d; however, in the subsequent generation, no differences between the two treatments were found. The results demonstrate that while no stage of reproductive development in Brassica is absolutely dependent upon gravity, lower embryo quality may result following development in microgravity.
Document ID
20040141597
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Kuang, A.
(Louisiana State University Agricultural Center Baton Rouge 70803, United States)
Popova, A.
Xiao, Y.
Musgrave, M. E.
Date Acquired
August 22, 2013
Publication Date
March 1, 2000
Publication Information
Publication: International journal of plant sciences
Volume: 161
Issue: 2
ISSN: 1058-5893
Subject Category
Life Sciences (General)
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG1-00139
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
short duration
STS-87 Shuttle Project
NASA Experiment Number 9600004
Flight Experiment
manned
Non-NASA Center
NASA Discipline Plant Biology

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available