Developing Plants to Cope with the Stress of Life on Mars

Plants grown outside of their normal environments can experience stress. Drought, temperatures out of their normal range and exposure to toxins cause plants to react, producing chemical responses that ready the plant to cope with the harmful conditions. But too much stress can kill plants. If humans are to explore other planets in the solar system, we will need to develop plants capable of handling extreme conditions.

NASA scientists looking at human exploration of Mars, and its extreme environment, are studying earth microbes that survive in the planet's harshest environments. Pyrococcus furiosus, a deep sea microbe that lives in superheated ocean vents occasionally gets expelled into cold ocean water, experiencing changes in temperature as much as 100 degrees Celsius - a situation that would kill most life forms on Earth. The researchers are using genes from P. furiosus and other extremophile microbes to develop plants that may survive the harsh conditions of a Martian greenhouse.

While greenhouses on Mars may seem far off in the future, the work could have many practical implications here on Earth. Extending the ability of crops to withstand extreme conditions could save lives in regions with short seasons or harsh growing conditions.

Link: Prozac for Plants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 10:01 AM on August 9, 2005

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