Non-destructive real-time analysis of plant metabolite accumulation in radish microgreens under different LED light recipes.

Introduction: The future of human space missions relies on the ability to provide adequate food resources for astronauts and also to reduce stress due to the environment (microgravity and cosmic radiation). In this context, microgreens have been proposed for the astronaut diet because of their fast-growing time and their high levels of bioactive compounds and nutrients (vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, etc.), which are even higher than mature plants, and are usually consumed as ready-to-eat vegetables.

Effects of gamma radiation on engineered tomato biofortified for space agriculture by morphometry and fluorescence-based indices.

Introduction: Future long-term space missions will focus to the solar system exploration, with the Moon and Mars as leading goals. Plant cultivation will provide fresh food as a healthy supplement to astronauts' diet in confined and unhealthy outposts. Ionizing radiation (IR) are a main hazard in outer space for their capacity to generate oxidative stress and DNA damage.

Farming for Pharming: Novel Hydroponic Process in Contained Environment for Efficient Pharma-Grade Production of Saffron.

Soilless cultivation of saffron () in a controlled environment represents an interesting alternative to field cultivation, in order to obtain a standardized high-quality product and to optimize yields. In particular, pharma-grade saffron is fundamental for therapeutic applications of this spice, whose efficacy has been demonstrated in the treatment of macular diseases, such as Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD). In this work, a hydroponic cultivation system was developed, specifically designed to meet the needs of plant.

Modifying Anthocyanins Biosynthesis in Tomato Hairy Roots: A Test Bed for Plant Resistance to Ionizing Radiation and Antioxidant Properties in Space.

Gene expression manipulation of specific metabolic pathways can be used to obtain bioaccumulation of valuable molecules and desired quality traits in plants. A single-gene approach to impact different traits would be greatly desirable in agrospace applications, where several aspects of plant physiology can be affected, influencing growth. In this work, MicroTom hairy root cultures expressing a MYB-like transcription factor that regulates the biosynthesis of anthocyanins in (), were considered as a testbed for bio-fortified tomato whole plants aimed at agrospace applications.

CultCube: Experiments in autonomous in-orbit cultivation on-board a 12-Units CubeSat platform.

The feasibility and design of the CultCube 12U CubeSat hosting a small Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) for the autonomous cultivation of a small plant in orbit is described. The satellite is aimed at running experiments in fruit plants growing for applications in crewed vehicles for long-term missions in space. CultCube is mainly composed of a pressurized vessel, constituting the outer shell of the ECLSS, and by various environmental controls (water, nutrients, air composition and pressure, light, etc.

Beyond DNA repair, the immunological role of PARP-1 and its siblings.

ADP-ribosylation is the addition of one or more (up to some hundreds) ADP-ribose moieties to acceptor proteins. There are two major families of enzymes that catalyse this reaction: extracellular ADP-ribosyl-transferases (ARTs), which are bound to the cell membrane by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor or are secreted, and poly(ADP-ribose)-polymerases (PARPs), which are present in the cell nucleus and/or cytoplasm. Recent findings revealed a wide immunological role for ADP-ribosylating enzymes.