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Polyethersulfone (PES) Membrane on Agar Plates as a Plant Growth Platform for Spaceflight

Alexander Meyers

Alexander Meyers

  • Department of Environmental & Plant Biology, Ohio UniversityAthens,
  • Interdisciplinary Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology, Ohio UniversityAthens,
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Meyers, Alexander
, 
Eric Land

Eric Land

Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State UniversityRaleigh,
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Land, Eric
, 
Imara Perera

Imara Perera

Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State UniversityRaleigh,
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Perera, Imara
, 
Emma Canaday

Emma Canaday

  • Department of Environmental & Plant Biology, Ohio UniversityAthens,
  • Interdisciplinary Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology, Ohio UniversityAthens,
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Canaday, Emma
 and 
Sarah E. Wyatt

Sarah E. Wyatt

  • Department of Environmental & Plant Biology, Ohio UniversityAthens,
  • Interdisciplinary Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology, Ohio UniversityAthens,
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Wyatt, Sarah E.
  
Dec 31, 2022
Polyethersulfone (PES) Membrane on Agar Plates as a Plant Growth Platform for Spaceflight's Cover Image
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Article Category: Research Note
Published Online: Dec 31, 2022
Page range: 30 - 36
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/gsr-2022-0004
Keywords
© 2022 Alexander Meyers et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Figure 1

Setup for APEx-07. (A) Plate components from left to right: agar plate, PES membrane, Arabidopsis seed with guar gum, micropore tape. (B) Plates growing vertically in rack.
Setup for APEx-07. (A) Plate components from left to right: agar plate, PES membrane, Arabidopsis seed with guar gum, micropore tape. (B) Plates growing vertically in rack.

Figure 2

12-day growth comparison between black and white PES membrane. The more cost-effective white membranes showed comparable growth to black membrane.
12-day growth comparison between black and white PES membrane. The more cost-effective white membranes showed comparable growth to black membrane.

Figure 3

Harvest strategy to maintain intact seedlings. (A) Representative 12-day seedling growth in plate, (B) membrane collected with forceps, (C) membrane transferred to lid of Petri dish and wrapped in foil for freezing and shipping, and (D) a frozen plate returned from low Earth orbit.
Harvest strategy to maintain intact seedlings. (A) Representative 12-day seedling growth in plate, (B) membrane collected with forceps, (C) membrane transferred to lid of Petri dish and wrapped in foil for freezing and shipping, and (D) a frozen plate returned from low Earth orbit.

Figure 4

Ground control Veggie unit at Kennedy Space Center (left) and both Veggie units at capacity aboard the ISS (right).
Ground control Veggie unit at Kennedy Space Center (left) and both Veggie units at capacity aboard the ISS (right).

Success criteria of EVT samples as measured across 60 plates_

Success Criteria Goal Observed Score
Germination >90% 99% Excellent
radical emergence
Growth 90% >99% Excellent
roots > 4cm
Contamination <10% 0% Excellent
Bacterial or fungal growth
Seedling intactness >90% 100% Excellent
Dissectible into roots/shoots
RNA quality >75% 100% Excellent
RIN> 8, 260/280>2
Language:
English
Publication timeframe:
2 times per year
Journal Subjects:
Life Sciences, Life Sciences, other, Materials Sciences, Materials Sciences, other, Physics, Physics, other
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