Morphogenesis of rice and Arabidopsis seedlings in space

Seedlings of rice (Oryza saliva L.) and Arabidopsis (A. thaliana L.) were cultivated for 68.5 hr in the RICE experiment on board during Space Shuttle STS 95 mission, and changes in their growth and morphology were analyzed. Microgravity in space stimulated elongation growth of both rice coleoptiles and Arabidopsis hypocotyls by making their cell walls extensible. In space, rice coleoptiles showed an inclination toward the caryopsis in the basal region and also a spontaneous curvature in the same direction in the elongating region. These inclinations and curvatures were more prominent in the Koshihikari cultivar compared to a dwarf cultivar, Tan-ginbozu. Rice roots elongated in various directions including into the air on orbit, but two thirds of the roots formed a constant angle with the axis of the caryopsis. In space, Arabidopsis hypocotyls also elongated in a variety of directions and about 10% of the hypocotyls grew into the agar medium. No clear curvatures were observed in the elongating region of Arabidopsis hypocotyls. Such a morphology of both types of seedlings was fundamentally similar to that observed on a 3 D clinostat. Thus, it was confirmed by the RICE experiment that rice and Arabidopsis seedlings perform an automorphogenesis under not only simulated but also true microgravity conditions.