scholarly journals Testing New Concepts for Crop Cultivation in Space: Effects of Rooting Volume and Nitrogen Availability

Life ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silje Wolff ◽  
Carolina Palma ◽  
Leo Marcelis ◽  
Ann-Iren Kittang Jost ◽  
Sander van Delden

Long term human missions to the Moon and Mars, rely on life support systems for food production and regeneration of resources. In the EU H2020 TIME SCALE-project, an advanced life support system concept was developed to facilitate plant research and technology demonstration under different gravity conditions. Ground experiments assessed irrigation systems and effects of rooting- and nutrient solution volume. The maximal allowed volume for existing International Space Station research facilities (3.4 L) was able to support cultivation of two lettuce heads for at least 24 days. A smaller rooting volume (0.6 L) increased root biomass after 24 days, but induced a 5% reduction in total biomass at day 35. Regulating effects of nitrate supply on plant water fluxes in light and dark were also investigated. At low concentrations of nitrate in the nutrient solution, both transpiration and stomatal conductance increased rapidly with increasing nitrate concentration. During day-time this increase levelled off at high concentrations, while during nigh-time there was a distinct decline at supra optimal concentrations. Plants supplied with nitrate concentrations as low as 1.25 mM did not show visible signs of nutrient stress or growth reduction. These findings hold promise for both reducing the environmental impact of terrestrial horticulture and avoiding nutrient stress in small scale closed cultivation systems for space.

2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra P. van Tongeren ◽  
Janneke Krooneman ◽  
Gerwin C. Raangs ◽  
Gjalt W. Welling ◽  
Hermie J. M. Harmsen

HortScience ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 1010A-1010
Author(s):  
Sharon Edney ◽  
Jeffrey Richards ◽  
Matthew Sisko ◽  
Neil Yorio ◽  
Gary Stutte ◽  
...  

Development of a crop production system that can be used on the International Space Station, long duration transit missions, and a lunar/Mars habitat, is a part of NASA's Advanced Life Support (ALS) research efforts. Selected crops require the capability to be grown under environmental conditions that might be encountered in the open cabin of a space vehicle. It is also likely that the crops will be grown in a mixed-cropping system to increase the production efficiency and variety for the crew's dietary supplementation. Three candidate ALS salad crops, radish (Raphanus sativus L. cv. Cherry Bomb II), lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. cv. Flandria) and bunching onion (Allium fistulosum L. cv. Kinka) were grown hydroponically as either monoculture (control) or mixed-crop within a walk-in growth chamber with baseline environments maintained at 50% relative humidity, 300 μmol·m-2·s-1 PPF and a 16-hour light/8-hour dark photoperiod under cool-white fluorescent lamps. Environmental treatments in separate tests were performed with either 400, 1200, or 4000 μmol·mol-1 CO2 combined with temperature treatments of 25 °C or 28 °C. Weekly time-course harvests were taken over 28 days of growth. Results showed that none of the species experienced negative effects when grown together under mixed-crop conditions compared to monoculture growth conditions.


2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 219-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra P. van Tongeren ◽  
Gerwin C. Raangs ◽  
Gjalt W. Welling ◽  
Hermie J. M. Harmsen ◽  
Janneke Krooneman

HortScience ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 1076D-1077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon L. Edney ◽  
Jeffrey T. Richards ◽  
Matthew D. Sisko ◽  
Neil C. Yorio ◽  
Gary W. Stutte ◽  
...  

The development of a crop production system that can be used on the International Space Station, long-duration transit missions, and lunar or Mars habitats, has been a part of NASA's Advanced Life Support (ALS) research efforts. Crops that can be grown under environmental conditions that might be encountered in the open cabin of a space vehicle would be an advantageous choice. The production efficiency of the system would be enhanced by growing these crops in a mixed-crop arrangement. This would also increase the variety of fresh foods available for the crew's dietary supplementation. Three candidate ALS salad crops, radish (Raphanus sativus L. cv. Cherry Bomb II), lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. cv. Flandria), and bunching onion (Allium fistulosum L. cv. Kinka) were grown hydroponically as either monoculture (control) or mixed-crop within a walk-in growth chamber with baseline environments maintained at 22 °C, 50% RH, 17.2 mol·m-2·d-1 light intensity and a 16-h light/8-h dark photoperiod under cool-white fluorescent lamps. Tests were carried out at three different CO2 concentrations: 400, 1200, and 4000 μmol·mol-1. Weekly time-course harvests were taken over 28 days of growth, and fresh mass, dry mass, and harvest index were determined. Results showed that none of the species experienced negative effects when grown together under mixed-crop conditions compared to monoculture growth conditions under the range of environmental conditions tested.


HortScience ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 975C-975
Author(s):  
Gary Stutte ◽  
Ignacio Eraso

NASA has intensively studied the use of plants to regenerate the atmosphere, purify water, and produce food within a bioregenerative life support system for many years. A unique aspect of growing plants in a controlled environment is chronic exposure to low levels of atmospheric volatiles. Alcohols are one of the most common classes of atmospheric contaminants currently detected onboard the International Space Station. A series of experiments were performed in specialized volatile organic compound analysis (VOCA) chambers in order to determine sensitivity of three Raphanus sativus L. to atmospheric exposures of ethanol. Three radish cultivars, Sora, Cherry Belle, and Cherry Bomb Hybrid II, were grown under continuous exposure to 0, 50, 100, 300, 500, or 1000 ppm ethanol for 21 days in the VOCA chambers with environmental setpoints of 23 °C, 75% relative humidity, and 18/6 photoperiod under T8 triphosphor fluorescent lamps at 300 μmol·m-2·s-1 PAR and 1200 μmol·mol-1 CO2. These concentrations corresponded to 5%, 10%, 30%, 50%, and 100% of the human exposure limits established by NASA and OSHA. Exposures to less than 10% of the legal exposure limit resulted in a 30% reduction in total biomass, 12% reduction in leaf area, and a 6% reduction in harvest index. Extreme stunting, chlorosis, and plant death were observed at only 50% of the exposure limit. All three cultivars were sensitive to ethanol exposure, with Cherry Bomb Hybrid II being slightly less sensitive than either Sora or Cherry Belle.


1992 ◽  
Vol 68 (05) ◽  
pp. 570-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary A Selak

SummaryWe have previously demonstrated that human neutrophil cathepsin G is a strong platelet agonist that binds to a specific receptor. This work describes the effect of neutrophil elastase on cathepsin G-induced platelet responses. While platelets were not activated by high concentrations of neutrophil elastase by itself, elastase enhanced aggregation, secretion and calcium mobilization induced by low concentrations of cathepsin G. Platelet aggregation and secretion were potentiated in a concentration-dependent manner by neutrophil elastase with maximal responses observable at 200 nM. Enhancement was observed when elastase was preincubated with platelets for time intervals of 10–60 s prior to addition of a low concentration of cathepsin G and required catalytically-active elastase since phenylmethanesulphonyl fluoride-inhibited enzyme failed to potentiate cell activation. Neutrophil elastase potentiation of platelet responses induced by low concentrations of cathepsin G was markedly inhibited by creatine phosphate/creatine phosphokinase and/or indomethacin, indicating that the synergism between elastase and cathepsin G required the participation of ADP and thromboxane A2. On the other hand, platelet responses were not attenuated by the PAF antagonist BN 52021, signifying that PAF-acether did not play a role in elastase potentiation. At higher concentrations porcine pancreatic elastase exhibits similar effects to neutrophil elastase, demonstrating that the effect of elastase was not unique to the neutrophil protease. While neutrophil elastase failed to alter the ability of cathepsin G to hydrolyze a synthetic chromogenic substrate, preincubation of platelets with elastase increased the apparent affinity of cathepsin G binding to platelets. In contrast to their effect on cathepsin G-induced platelet responses, neither neutrophil nor pancreatic elasatse potentiated aggregation or dense granule release initiated by ADP, PAF-acether, arachidonic acid or U46619, a thromboxane A2 mimetic. Moreover, unlike its effect on cathepsin G, neutrophil elastase inhibited thrombin-induced responses. The current observations demonstrate that elastase can potentiate platelet responses mediated by low concentrations of cathepsin G, suggesting that both enzymes may function synergistically to activate platelets under conditions where neutrophil degranulation occurs.


1989 ◽  
Vol 61 (02) ◽  
pp. 254-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret L Rand ◽  
Peter L Gross ◽  
Donna M Jakowec ◽  
Marian A Packham ◽  
J Fraser Mustard

SummaryEthanol, at physiologically tolerable concentrations, inhibits platelet responses to low concentrations of collagen or thrombin, but does not inhibit responses of washed rabbit platelets stimulated with high concentrations of ADP, collagen, or thrombin. However, when platelet responses to high concentrations of collagen or thrombin had been partially inhibited by prostacyclin (PGI2), ethanol had additional inhibitory effects on aggregation and secretion. These effects were also observed with aspirin- treated platelets stimulated with thrombin. Ethanol had no further inhibitory effect on aggregation of platelets stimulated with ADP, or the combination of ADP and epinephrine. Thus, the inhibitory effects of ethanol on platelet responses in the presence of PGI2 were very similar to its inhibitory effects in the absence of PGI2, when platelets were stimulated with lower concentrations of collagen or thrombin. Ethanol did not appear to exert its inhibitory effects by increasing cyclic AMP above basal levels and the additional inhibitory effects of ethanol in the presence of PGI2 did not appear to be brought about by further increases in platelet cyclic AMP levels.


1970 ◽  
Vol 23 (03) ◽  
pp. 601-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Th. B Tschopp

SummaryAggregation of cat platelets in the citrated plasma is examined by means of Born’s absorptiometer. A marked tendency of the platelets of this species to spontaneous aggregation necessitated first of all the development of an improved technique of blood collection.A hypothesis according to which 5-HT is released from the platelets, explains the absence of oscillations on the base line of the absorptiometer, the absence of platelet swelling, when ADP is added, and the effect of stirring on the aggregation curves in cat PRP. The average volume of cat platelets amounts to 10.46 μ3 when directly fixed in the blood, when fixed from PRP to 12.17 μ3, when fixed from stirred PRP to 13.51 μ3.In low concentrations (0.3-2 μM) ADP produce reversible aggregation; in narrowly restricted, individually dissimilar mean concentrations irreversible aggregation in two phases and in high concentrations, irreversible aggregation in one phase. Like ADP serotonin produces 2 phase irreversible aggregation in concentrations of 3-10 μM, but unlike ADP, the aggregation velocity decreases again with high 5-HT concentrations (>100 μM). Adrenaline does not produce aggregation and it is likely that adenosine and adenosine monophosphate inhibit the aggregation by serotonin but not by ADP. Species differences in the aggregation of human, rabbit and cat platelets are discussed.


1971 ◽  
Vol 26 (01) ◽  
pp. 145-166
Author(s):  
E Deutsch ◽  
K Lechner ◽  
K Moser ◽  
L Stockinger

Summary1. The aniline derivative AN 162, Donau Pharmazie, Linz, Austria, has a dual action on the blood coagulation: an anticoagulant and an coagulation enhancing effect.2. The anticoagulant action may only be demonstrated with high concentrations (over 1 X 10”3 M related to plasma) preferentially in PPP. It is partially caused by an inhibition of the endogenous way of generation of the prothrombin converting principle. In addition it is suggested that it interferes with the fibrinogen-fibrin reaction in a manner not yet understood.3. The coagulant action is caused by a greater availability of platelet constituents at low concentrations of AN 162 (over 1 × 10-4 M) and by the induction of a release reaction at higher concentrations. The platelet factors 3 and 4, serotonin, adenine, and acid phosphatase are released.4. AN 162 inhibits platelet aggregation. This inhibition can be demonstrated by the PAT of Breddin and in the stirred aggregation test of Born. It is more effective to inhibit the collagen-induced and the second phase of the adrenaline-induced aggregation than the ADP induced one. The platelet retention (test of Hellem) is also reduced.5. The action of AN 162 on the platelets is caused by a damage of the platelet membrane which becomes permeabel for both, soluble platelet constitutents and granula.6. AN 162 interferes with the energy metabolism of the platelets. It causes a loss of ATP, and inhibits the key-enzymes of glycolysis, citric acid cycle, fatty acid oxydation and glutathione reduction.7. AN 162 inhibits the growth of fibroblasts without influence on mitosis.


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