Agnirva Space Premier League - Expedition #32560: How Gravity Shapes Plant Life: The Roscosmos Study on Cytoskeleton and Cell Division

Plants rely heavily on gravity to guide their growth—a phenomenon known as gravitropism. The Russian experiment 'Influence of Gravity on the Cytoskeleton and the Determination of the Division Plane in Plants' investigates how microgravity affects two fundamental processes in plant biology: the structure of the cytoskeleton and the orientation of cell division.

Conducted during Expedition 9 aboard the ISS, this study examines how plant cells organize their internal scaffolding (the cytoskeleton) and decide the plane along which they divide when gravity is absent. These insights are crucial for understanding how plants might grow and reproduce in space, which is essential for long-term space missions and extraterrestrial agriculture.

In microgravity, the normal cues that guide these processes are missing or altered, potentially leading to irregular growth patterns. Understanding these changes helps scientists develop methods to grow healthy plants in space, supporting the future of space farming and sustainable life support systems.

This research, backed by ROSCOSMOS, highlights the importance of plant studies in space and their potential applications for both space exploration and agriculture on Earth.

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