| Principal Investigator |
: |
 |
Takayuki Hoson, Ph.D.
(Osaka City University) |
|
| Objective |
: |
It is known that higher plants form strong cell walls resistant to
gravity, since they have evolved in 1g gravity environment on Earth.
The strength of the cell walls is believed to vary with the magnitude of
gravity. The experiment aims to validate this hypothesis.
|
| Experiment outline |
: |
Rice and Arabidopsis seeds are planted on agar media and
kept cold. On orbit they are taken out and germinated at room temperature,
cultured for three different periods (3, 4, and 5 days), and photographed
at the end of each period. The seedlings are then frozen and brought back
to Earth for detailed analyses. |
|
|
|
| Experimental unit |
: |
Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC)
Several petri dishes can be stored in the BRIC. There are several types
of petri dishes which are stored in the BRIC.
 |
| In this experiment ,four petri dishes will be stored
in a BRIC. |
|
| Expected effects |
: |
By germinating and growing the plants under the zero-gravity the effect
of gravity on the cell wall characteristics can be analyzed. These results
will give us the basic data for the plant production in space in the future. |
