More Plants in Space

That last article on Space Basil reminded me of the research that John Z. Kiss is doing at Miami University of Ohio.

Here are John Kiss' research interests, first in Common English, then in PlantSpeak.

(Common): http://www.cas.muohio.edu/botany/bot/iss.html

The goal of the current research is to better understand how plants integrate sensory input from multiple light and gravity perception systems. The long-range goals are related to developing better crop plants on earth and to determining plants' potential use as a food source during prolonged human time in space. They will again use Arabidopsis, a small plant in the mustard family, that is currently the focus of an international gene sequencing project analogous to the human genome project.

(PlantSpeak): http://www.cas.muohio.edu/botany/people/profiles/Kiss.html

In my laboratory, we are interested in the cellular and molecular mechanisms of gravitropism and phototropism. In the gravitropism project, we have been studying how statoliths interact with the cytoskeleton in gravitropic signal transduction. In terms of phototropism, we have been examining the role of the photosensitive pigment phytochrome in the regulation of this process in both roots and stem-like organs.

Our experiments on gravitropism have been part of a spaceflight project on the Space Shuttle, and we have additional experiments in development for the International Space Station. Some of our research also involves the use of the Electron Microscopy Facility at Miami University. Most recently, we have been using microarray technology to analyze gene expression profiles during various tropisms. Our long-term goals include understanding of how plants integrate sensory input from multiple light and gravity perception systems.

Here are a few links to articles on Dr. Kiss' work:
http://newsinfo.muohio.edu/news_display.cfm?mu_un_id=429
http://newsinfo.muohio.edu/news_display.cfm?mu_un_id=411