Symbiotic Nodulation in a Reduced Gravity Environment (SyNRGE) used a biological model system consisting of one species of plant and one species of bacteria that form a symbiotic relationship. They looks at how plants and bacteria that form a beneficial relationship on Earth interact in microgravity and worked with two different sets of experiments.
In one set of experiments, after reaching orbit the crew inoculated some of the five-day-old plants with beneficial bacteria while others were not. Before returning to Earth, a chemical fixative was added to Mpreserve both the plants and the bacteria.
In the second experiment, bacteria cultures and plant seeds were allowed to germinate on orbit in microgravity, while an identical set of bacteria cultures and plant seeds were simultaneously germinated on Earth in normal gravity. At the end of the mission, plants and bacteria from space and from the ground control were stored in the cold.
After returning to Earth, plants and bacteria grown on orbit and on the ground were placed in plant growth chambers to see if microgravity affected the ability of either bacteria or plants to form a symbiotic relationship.
The experiment verified techniques for seed germination and inoculation on orbit, and initial results suggest that the first steps in forming the symbiotic interaction leading to nitrogen fixation do occur in microgravity. The experiment also revealed significant differences in gene activation and expression between ground and space cultivated plants and bacteria. They are currently analyzing the gene expression data to identify the genes that may be involved in these differences."We were very pleasantly surprised that the seed germination rate in the flight experiment was 100 percent",as Roberts said.
In one set of experiments, after reaching orbit the crew inoculated some of the five-day-old plants with beneficial bacteria while others were not. Before returning to Earth, a chemical fixative was added to Mpreserve both the plants and the bacteria.
In the second experiment, bacteria cultures and plant seeds were allowed to germinate on orbit in microgravity, while an identical set of bacteria cultures and plant seeds were simultaneously germinated on Earth in normal gravity. At the end of the mission, plants and bacteria from space and from the ground control were stored in the cold.
After returning to Earth, plants and bacteria grown on orbit and on the ground were placed in plant growth chambers to see if microgravity affected the ability of either bacteria or plants to form a symbiotic relationship.
The experiment verified techniques for seed germination and inoculation on orbit, and initial results suggest that the first steps in forming the symbiotic interaction leading to nitrogen fixation do occur in microgravity. The experiment also revealed significant differences in gene activation and expression between ground and space cultivated plants and bacteria. They are currently analyzing the gene expression data to identify the genes that may be involved in these differences."We were very pleasantly surprised that the seed germination rate in the flight experiment was 100 percent",as Roberts said.
Preflight Postflight
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