Seeds in space

Biologist Sarah Wyatt has sent several batches of seeds to the International Space Station to study the impact of gravity—or the lack thereof—on plant growth beyond Earth’s atmosphere. In August 2019, NASA announced that Wyatt was one of 15 U.S. scientists selected to conduct space biology research on the station as part of its Artemis lunar exploration program focused on the Moon and Mars.

Wyatt’s lab includes a -80 Celsius freezer full of plants that have traveled to space, where they were exposed to various gravitational forces and conditions. The researchers extract RNA from these plants to determine what genes were affected by the experiments.

Wyatt has found several genes and proteins involved in how plants respond to gravity. The discoveries have helped researchers understand the fundamental science behind the process, and also what causes it to go haywire.

Wyatt’s work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, which funded studies on the basic mechanisms behind a plant’s response to gravity, The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which has been interested in the implications for crop development, and NASA.