Space-grown Cucumbers Show Survival Prowess Under Gravity Restriction [Video]
Plant survival generally depends on three basic factors. The growth and life sustainability of herbs and related vegetation lean on the presence of water, sunlight and rich soil.
A lot of people have wondered if plants are able to thrive in a different environment with unlikely elements. Japanese experts at Tohoku University may have an answer to such inquiry.
Researchers from one of Japan's outstanding schools have subjected cucumbers to a constrained domain. Seeds of the said plant have been exposed to a substandard form of gravity.
The ecosystem tapped for the research work closely resembles the conditions of the International Space Station. Still, cucumber seeds, as reported by iTech Post, will undergo sprouting through a process called germination.
Since the growth procedure has bypassed the utilization of soil, the plant will lean on water, temperature, oxygen and light to sustain its existence. Most forms of vegetation find ways to growth.
Usually, the entire process is managed by the roots where the needed means pass through. Within this context, gravity becomes significant considering the fact that this force will direct the hormones which stimulate growth.
The main objective here is to know how plants, which will be represented by cucumbers, are able to follow the development pattern with far less gravity. Experts will soon unlock the vital function of the CsPIN1 protein.
It has been revealed in a narrative published in the Nature Microgravity journal that the presence of the protein substance has managed the progression of the plant based on the amount of force present. It should be noted that the cucumber seeds have been grown in space.
According to Science Explorer, Hideyuki Takahashi, a member of the Graduate School of Life Sciences' Space and Adaption Biology Laboratory, shares that the inhibited horizontal growth of the plant is due to the influence of the CsPIN1 substance.
It has been observed that space-grown cucumbers have the capacity to move growth hormones through the formation of cellular canals. The concept unveils that plants are able to evolve depending on the available level of gravitational force.
