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Live Imaging Technique for Studies of Growth and Development of Chinese Cabbage Under Microgravity in a Recoverable Satellite (SJ-8)

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Abstract

The live imaging techniques have been developed and applied to investigate for the first time the growth and development of Chinese cabbage for 18 days under microgravity conditions on board the Chinese SJ-8 recoverable satellite. These experiments offer insight into plant behaviors operating during plant development in space. Two automatic, preprogrammed CCD cameras were installed in the plant experimental chamber. The experimental objectives were: (1) seed germination; (2) seedling growth; (3) flower opening and pollination. The growth of seedlings and flowers were followed by time lapse photography at 2 h intervals. Serial real-time images of the Chinese cabbage plant growth under microgravity were successfully obtained through the remote operating system. The image data obtained from space experiment, in comparison with the results from ground control (1 g) and 3D clinostat stimulate experiments, showed that the height of plant and the number of leaves were significantly reduced under the microgravity conditions, but characters of leaf arrangement and leaf shape were not altered obviously. Flower opening and expansion were inhibited by exposed to space flight condition. The petals of flowers from both SJ-8 grown plants and clinostat rotated plants couldn’t fully expand before wilted.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 300 Fenglin Road, Shanghai, 200032, China

    Hui-Qiong Zheng, Ning Wei, Ai-Di Chen & Liu-Fa Wang

  2. Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200083, China

    Wei-Bo Zheng & Tao Zhang

Authors
  1. Hui-Qiong Zheng
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  2. Ning Wei
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  3. Ai-Di Chen
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  4. Liu-Fa Wang
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  5. Wei-Bo Zheng
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  6. Tao Zhang
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Correspondence to Hui-Qiong Zheng.

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ESM Fig. 1

Morphology of individual flowers in Chinese cabbage was affected by altered gravity. Flowers grown under 1 g control condition were normal in appearance (a, d), the petals of the flowers grown on the clinostat didn’t fully expand (b, e) and flowers in SJ-8 plants didn’t attain full opening before wilted (c, f) (DOC 697 KB).

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Zheng, HQ., Wei, N., Chen, AD. et al. Live Imaging Technique for Studies of Growth and Development of Chinese Cabbage Under Microgravity in a Recoverable Satellite (SJ-8). Microgravity Sci. Technol 20, 137–143 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-008-9005-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-008-9005-8

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