The influence of physical space flight factors on tomato plants grown from seeds carried for a long time at the orbital space station MIR
- Paper number
IAC-06-A1.7.-A2.7.07
- Author
Mrs. Galina Nechitailo, Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russia
- Coauthor
Mr. S.S. Yurov, Russia
- Year
2006
- Abstract
The physical factors acting on biological objects during space flights include not only weightless – ness (microgravity) but also different radiations from low-energy photons to high-energy androns products of their interaction as well as electric and magnetic fields. Referred to the physical space flight factors may also be back-ground, microwave relic galactic radiations the effect of which on biological objects will be described in the paper. Experiments at orbital space stations were carried out with seeds of various plants – welsh onion, arabidopsis, wheat, pea, maize, barley, tomato, etc. The results of these experiments showed some discrepancy concerning germinating capacity, presence of chromosome aberrations and other parameters. After short-term space flights most of plants did not exhibit any irreversible changes. But prolongation of space flights to over one year leads to practically complete loss of the germinating capacity in, for example, Arabidopsis thaliana and Crepis capillaries. The level of recessive mutations increased more than 3-fold as compared to the control variants after exposure of seeds during 840 days. The objects studied in the experiments described here are tomato plants obtained from seeds carried for 6 years at the station MIR. According to the results of the experiments the germinating capacity of the seeds was 32% versus 60% in the control. The germination of the seeds began only on the seeds began only on the 14-15th days (in the control – on the 5th day). In the process of ontogenesis the level of mutations revealed in the experimental variants made up 18% as compared to the 8% in the control. Genetic studies demonstrated a considerable number of abnormalities in the experiment variant - three times more than in the control plants. Significant changed were discovered in organo - end embryogenesis of the experimental and control plants, suggesting the mutagenic effect of the combination of physical space flight factors on the growth and development of plants grown from seeds exposed for a long time under space flight conditions.
- Abstract document