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Plants grown in Apollo lunar regolith present stress-associated transcriptomes that inform prospects for lunar exploration

Space Sciences

Plants grown in Apollo lunar regolith present stress-associated transcriptomes that inform prospects for lunar exploration

A. Paul, S. M. Elardo, et al.

This groundbreaking research by Anna-Lisa Paul, Stephen M. Elardo, and Robert Ferl investigates the challenges of growing *Arabidopsis thaliana* in lunar regolith. The findings reveal the plant's struggle and stress responses in extraterrestrial soil, highlighting both potential and limitations for future lunar agriculture.

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Playback language: English
Abstract
The ability of plants to thrive in extraterrestrial environments using in-situ resources determines the extent to which they can enhance human life support on other worlds. Using samples from Apollo 11, 12, and 17, this study shows that *Arabidopsis thaliana* germinates and grows in diverse lunar regoliths. However, growth was challenging; plants were slow to develop and exhibited severe stress morphologies. Gene expression analysis revealed ionic stresses similar to plant responses to salt, metals, and reactive oxygen species. While lunar regolith can be useful for plant production in lunar habitats, it's not a benign substrate. Further research is needed to understand and mitigate the plant-regolith interaction for efficient use of lunar regolith in life support systems.
Publisher
Communications Biology
Published On
May 12, 2022
Authors
Anna-Lisa Paul, Stephen M. Elardo, Robert Ferl
Tags
extraterrestrial environments
lunar regolith
Arabidopsis thaliana
plant growth
gene expression
life support systems
stress morphologies
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