This means that the NUC2 gene is more important than the NUC1 gene for utilizing the red light to stimulate ribosome biogenesis and combat stress. Under red light, the NUC1-mutant plants were able to perform ribosome biogenesis better than the NUC2-mutant plants. All three groups of plants were then subjected to either 2 days of red light or 2 days of darkness. In order to study these genes, they created Arabidopsis plants with a non-functioning, mutant, version of either NUC1 or NUC2, as well as control plants with normal versions of both genes. They also wanted to see which nucleolin gene, NUC1 or NUC2, was more important for combating the stress response. Therefore, a group of researchers from Spain, France and the USA thought that red light exposure might reverse the destructive effects of spaceflight stress on plants through the activation of ribosome biogenesis. Previous research on the ISS showed that Arabidopsis plants grown in red light were more resilient to the stress of spaceflight. In particular, red light activates ribosome biogenesis within each plant cell. Red light, however, is important for plant growth, flowering, and fruiting. Blue light is important for chlorophyll production, which gives plants strong stems and leaves. We know that plants don’t absorb much green light, because the green light bounces off the leaves and stems and makes the plants appear green to our eyes. When plants receive light from the sun, they are getting approximately equal levels of red, blue and green light. Ribosome biogenesis is activated when the plant is exposed to light, from the sun or an artificial light source. Arabidopsis plants, which are commonly used in plant research, have two genes encoding the nucleolin protein: NUC1 and NUC2.Īrabidopsis thaliana, Source: Wikimedia Commons One key helper protein is known as nucleolin, a protein involved in ribosome assembly. The process is finely tuned and intricately controlled, and requires hundreds of helper proteins to generate, process, move and assemble the different parts of the ribosome. Ribosome biogenesis is extremely sensitive to stress because it is the most complex process in the cell. One plant cell can have over a million ribosomes, all functioning at the same time to produce the proteins needed for cell growth and survival. Ribosomes are multi-protein complexes which translate genes into proteins. One of the most sensitive and essential cellular processes is ribosome biogenesis, or ribosome formation. Within each plant cell, some processes are more sensitive to stress than others. In previous research, plants grown in the dark on the International Space Station (ISS) showed a decrease in cell growth compared to control plants. Plants are particularly stressed by cold, darkness and lack of gravity, all of which occur in space.
How can astronauts grow plants in space, or farm on Mars? This is the subject of much ongoing research, and one study found that activating a key cellular process using red light may be a big part of the answer.īecause plants can’t move around the way animals can, they have to be very flexible and adaptive to stressful changes in their environment. What new treatments are there for neurodegenerative diseases?.What new technology is coming around the corner?.What might life look like elsewhere in the Universe?.What is going on with the Earth’s climate?.What effects do different foods have on our bodies and health?.What do we know about autoimmune diseases?.How does technology impact our daily lives?.How do we feed people now and in the future?.How do scientists study drugs and vaccines?.How do microbes respond to changes in their surroundings?.How can microbes clean up the environment?.
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