The biggest challenges in long space exploration has been sustainable supply of basic life support. Plants are reliable sources of sustenance and survival because of their ability to produce Oxygen, Water, and Food. This is much more important as it provides a more sustainable energy source during space travel. Unfortunately, microgravity which is a common phenomenon in space could be hindrance to plant growth and development. This study investigated response of plant growth promoters to enhance survival, yield and development of a Zea mays exposed to Microgravity simulated environment using 2D Clinostat. Plant growth stimulators that were used are Indole-3-Acetic Acid (IAA), Sodium Nitroprusside (SNP) and Thiourea (TU) at concentrations of 100 ppm and 500 ppm respectively. The Zea mays seeds were subjected to clinorotation at 0.5 rpm, and 2.5 rpm, and were observed for 120 hr. After 120hrs, the microgravity-exposed seedlings were acclimatized in experimental plants in a well-ventilated screen house for 5 days and thereafter transplanted on the field, where plant growth and yield responses were observed for 12 weeks. The study showed that addition of growth stimulators enhanced significant positive association between plant total dry weight and oxygen production efficiency. This study addresses Millennium Development Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. This it does by providing information on the possible adoption of a combination of microgravity and growth stimulation as a measure for improvement of maize, as yield increase was more than 50% through the adoption of this technology. Conclusively, growth chemo-stimulation with IAA and SNP enhanced plant growth, development and high yield of maize exposed to simulated microgravity using 2D-Clinostat.
| Published in | American Journal of Life Sciences (Volume 13, Issue 6) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajls.20251306.12 |
| Page(s) | 180-197 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Microgravity, 2D Clinostat, Simulation, Growth Stimulator
| [1] | Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board (ASEB). (1997). Advanced Technology for Human Support in Space. National Research Council, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. 34 p. |
| [2] | Ashraf, M. and Foolad, M. R. (2005). Pre-sowing seed treatment - a shotgun approach to improve germination, plant growth, and crop yield under saline and non-saline conditions. Advances in Agronomy88:223-271. |
| [3] | Bai, B., Sikron, S., Gendler, T., Kazachkova, Y., Barak, S., Grafi, G., Khozin-Goldberg, I. and Fait, A. (2011). Ecotypic variability in the metabolic response of seeds to diurnal hydration dehydration cycles and its relationship to seed vigor. Plant and Cell Physiology53(1):38-52. |
| [4] | Bajehbaj, A. A. (2010). The effects of NaCl priming on salt tolerance in sunflower germination and seedling grown under salinity conditions. African Journal of Biotechnology9:1764-1770. |
| [5] | Berkovich, J. A., Krivobok, N. M., Siniak, J. E., Zaitsev, E. R., Monakhov, B. N., Protasov, N. N., Abramov, L. Kh., Samsonov, N. M. and Farafonov, N. S. (2000).Perspectives of Developing Space Greenhouse for the International Space Station,” 6th European Symposium on Space Environmental Control Systems. Noordwijk, Netherlands. 22p. |
| [6] | Bewley, J. D., Bradford, K., Hilhorst, H. and Nonogaki, H. (2013). Seeds: Physiology of Development, Germination and Dormancy. 3rd Edition. New York: Springer. |
| [7] | Bhuiyan, M. S. H., Malek, M. A. and Hassan, A. B. A. (2019). Mutation determination of rice by using RAPD primers. International Journal of Agricultural Research and Innovation Technology. 9(1): 1-7. |
| [8] | Campbell, W. F., Salisbury, F. B., Bugbee, B., Klassen, S., Naegle, E., Strickland, D. T., Bingham, G. E., Levinskikh, M., Iljina, G. M., Veselova, T. D., Sytchev, V. N., Podolsky, G., McManus, W. R., Bubenheim, D. L., Stieber, J. and Jahns G. (2001). Comparative floral development of mars-grown and ethylene-treated, earth-grown Super Dwarf wheat. Journal Plant Physiology, 158: 1051-1060. |
| [9] | Caprong I, Corbineau, F., Dacher, F., Job, C., Côme, D. and Job, D. (2000). Sugar beet seed priming: effects of priming conditions on germination, solubilization of 11-S globulin and accumulation of LEA proteins. Seed Science Research10:243-254. |
| [10] | Cohen, G., Dembiec, C. and Marens, J. (1970) Measurement of catalase activity in tissue extracts. Analytical Biochemistry, 34, 30-38. |
| [11] | Daneshvar, A., Tigabu, M. and Karimidoost, A. (2017). Flotation techniques to improve viability of Juniperus polycarpos seed lots. Journal of Forestry Research 28: 231-239. |
| [12] | Dauzart, A. J. C., Vandenbrink, J. P. and Kiss, J. Z. (2016). The effects of Clinorotation on the host plant, Medicago truncatula, and its microbial symbionts. Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 3(3):1-10. |
| [13] | Farooq, M., Basra, S. M. A., Wahid, A., Khaliq, A. and Kobayashi, N. (2009). Rice seed invigoration: a review. In: Lichtfouse E (ed) Organic farming, pest control and remediation of soil pollutants: sustainable agricultural reviews. Springer Science, Amsterdam. |
| [14] | Gordon, A. G. (1971). The germination resistance test - A new test for measuring germination quality ofcereals. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 51: 181-183. |
| [15] | Hasanuzzaman, M., Nahar, K., Alam, M. M., Roychowdhury, R. and Fujita, M. (2013). Physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms of heat stress tolerance in plants. International Journal of Molecular Sciences14: 9643-9684. |
| [16] | Hensel, W. and Sievers, A. (1980). Effects of prolonged omnilateral gravistimulation on the ultrastructure of statocytes and on the graviresponse of roots. Planta 150: 338-346. |
| [17] | Ihase, L. O, Horn, R., Anoliefo, G. O., Eke, C. R., Okwuagwu, C. O. and Asemota, O. (2014). Assessment of an oil palm population from Nigeria Institute for Oil palm Research (NIFOR) for simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker application. African Journal of Biotechnology, 13 (14):1529 - 1540. |
| [18] | Ikhajiagbe, B., Igiebor, F.A. and Ogwu, C. (2021). Growth and yield performances of rice (Oryza sativa var. nerica) after exposure to biosynthesized nanoparticles. Bulletin of the National Research Centre45(62): 1-13. |
| [19] | ISTA. (1999). International Rules for Seed Testing. International Seed Testing Association (ISTA), Seed Science and Technology, 287, supplement. |
| [20] | Jules, K., McPherson, K., Hrovat, K., Kelly, E. and Reckart, T. (2004). A status report on the characterization of the microgravity environment of the International Space Station. Acta Astronautica55:335-364. |
| [21] | Kader, M. A. (2005). A comparison of seed germination calculation formulae and the associated interpretation of resulting data. Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 138: 65-75. |
| [22] | Kiss, J., Wolverton, C., Wyatt, S., Hasenstein,K.H., Van Loon J. (2019). Comparison of microgravity analogs to spaceflight in studies of plant growth and development. Frontiers of Plant Science 3:12- 22. |
| [23] | Kittang Jost, A.-I., T. Hoson, and T.-H. Iversen. (2015). “The Utilization of Plant Facilities on the ISS the composition, growth, and development of plant cell walls under microgravity conditions.” Plants 5: 44-62. |
| [24] | Klymchuk, D. O., Vorobyova, T. V., Chapman, D. K. and Brown, C. S. (2003). Changes in vacuolation in the root apex cells of soybean seedlings in microgravity. Advances in Space Research, 31:2283 - 2288. |
| [25] | Kumari, N and Thakur, S.K (2014). Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA - A brief review. American Journal of Animal and Veterinary Sciences 9(1): 6 - 13. |
| [26] | Monje, O., G. Stutte, and D. Chapman. (2005). “Microgravity does not alter plant stand gas exchange of wheat at moderate light levels and saturating CO2 concentration.” Planta 222 (2): 336-345. |
| [27] | Musgrave, M. E., A. Kuang, L. K. Tuominen, L. H. Levine, and R. C. Morrow. (2005). “Seed storage reserves and glucosinolates in Brassica rapa L. grown on the International Space Station.” Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science 130 (6): 848-856. |
| [28] | Nelson, M., Allen, J., Alling, A., Dempster, W. F. and Silverstone, S. (2003). Earth applications of closed ecological systems: relevance to the development of sustainability in our global biosphere. Advance Space Resources, 31(7):1649 - 1656. |
| [29] | Nyman, J. and Haszeldine, R. N. (1959). Oxidation of polyhalogeno-compounds. Part III. Thermal oxidation of some chlorofluoroethanes. Journal of The Chemical Society 75: 420-422. |
| [30] | Odeh, R., and Guy, C. (2017). Gardening for therapeutic people-plant interactions during long duration space missions. Open Agriculture, 2:1-13. |
| [31] | Orukpe, A. O., Anoliefo, G. O. and Ikhajiagbe, B. (2021). Effects of Clinorotation on the Enzyme activities and morphology of Zea mays Seedlings. American Journal of Life Sciences 9 (1): 11-18. |
| [32] | Özalkan, C., Hasan, T., Sepetolu, H. T., Daur, I. and Sen, O. F. (2010). Relationship between some plant growth parameters and grain yield of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) during different growth stages. Turkish Journal of Field Crops, 15(1): 79-83. |
| [33] | Penley, N. J., Schafer, C. P. and Bartoe, J. D. F. (2002). The International Space Station as microgravity research platform. Acta Astronautica50:691-696. |
| [34] | Porterfield, D. M. (2002). The biophysical limitations in physiological transport and exchange in plants grown in microgravity. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation, 21:177 - 190. |
| [35] | Poulet, L., Fontaine, J. P. and Dussap, C. G. (2016). Plant’s response to space environment: a comprehensive review including mechanistic modelling for future space gardeners. Botany Letters, 163:337 - 347. |
| [36] | Ranal, M. A. and Santana, D. G. (2006). How and why to measure the germination process? Brazilian Journal of Botany 29: 1-11. |
| [37] |
Raymond, M. W. (2017). The Role of Plants in Space Exploration. HYPERLINK "
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA" National Aeronautics and Space Administration Exploration Research and Technology, Kennedy Space Centre, Florida, USA. 24 p. |
| [38] | Sadia, T., Zahida, H. P. and Rabbani, M. A. (2012). Molecular characterization of traditional and improved rice cultivars based on random amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs) markers. African Journal of Biotechnology, 11(45):10297 - 10304. |
| [39] | Silje, A. W., Liz H. C., Irene K. and Jost, A. K. (2014). Effect of the extraterrestrial environment on plants: recommendations for future space experiments for the MELiSSA higher plant compartment. Life Sciences in Space Research,4:189 - 204. |
| [40] | Stutte, G. W., Newsham, G., Morrow, R. C. and Wheeler, R. M. (2011). Concept for sustained plant production on ISS using VEGGIE capillary mat rooting system. 41st International Conference on Environmental Systems, Portland, Oregon. Pp23. |
| [41] | Timson, J. (1965). New Method of Recording Germination Data. Nature 207: 216. |
| [42] | Tryggvason, B. V., Duval, W. M. B., Smith, R. W., Rezkallah, K. S., Varma, S., Redden, R. F. and Herring, R. A. (2001). The vibration environment on the International Space Station: its significance to fluid-based experiments. Acta Astronautica48: 59-70. |
| [43] | Tuominen, L. K., L. H. Levine, and M. E. Musgrave. (2009). “Plant secondary metabolism in altered gravity.” Methods in Molecular Biology 547: 373-386. |
| [44] | United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (2013). Teacher’s Guide to Plant Experiments in Micro-g. Programme on Space Applications. UNOOSA, New York. 45p p. |
| [45] | Yang, Y., Rao, Y., Xu, J., Shao, G., Leng, Y., Huang, L., Wang, L., Dai, L., Zhang, G., Hu, J., Zhu, L., Li, C., Gao, Z., Guo, L., Qian, Q. and Zeng, D. (2014). Genetic analysis of sugar-related traits in rice grain. South African Journal of Botany, 93: 137 - 141. |
| [46] | Zabel, P., Bamsey, M., Schubert, D. and Tajmar, M. (2016). Review and analysis of over 40 years of space plant growth systems. Life Sciences in Space Research, 10: 1-16. |
| [47] | Zhao, T., Deng, X., Xiao, Q., Han, Y., Zhu, S. and Chen, J. (2020). IAA priming improves the germination and seedling growth in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) via regulating the endogenous phytohormones and enhancing the sucrose metabolism. Industrial Crops and Products155: 112788. |
APA Style
Orukpe, A. O., Anoliefo, G. O., Ikhajiagbe, B., Atumah, P. E. (2025). Productivity Evaluation of Hormone-primed Maize Seedlings Exposed to Microgravity Environment Simulated with 2d Clinostat. American Journal of Life Sciences, 13(6), 180-197. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20251306.12
ACS Style
Orukpe, A. O.; Anoliefo, G. O.; Ikhajiagbe, B.; Atumah, P. E. Productivity Evaluation of Hormone-primed Maize Seedlings Exposed to Microgravity Environment Simulated with 2d Clinostat. Am. J. Life Sci. 2025, 13(6), 180-197. doi: 10.11648/j.ajls.20251306.12
AMA Style
Orukpe AO, Anoliefo GO, Ikhajiagbe B, Atumah PE. Productivity Evaluation of Hormone-primed Maize Seedlings Exposed to Microgravity Environment Simulated with 2d Clinostat. Am J Life Sci. 2025;13(6):180-197. doi: 10.11648/j.ajls.20251306.12
@article{10.11648/j.ajls.20251306.12,
author = {Alexander Oseghale Orukpe and Geoffrey Obinna Anoliefo and Beckley Ikhajiagbe and Prayer Eromosele Atumah},
title = {Productivity Evaluation of Hormone-primed Maize Seedlings Exposed to Microgravity Environment Simulated with 2d Clinostat},
journal = {American Journal of Life Sciences},
volume = {13},
number = {6},
pages = {180-197},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajls.20251306.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20251306.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajls.20251306.12},
abstract = {The biggest challenges in long space exploration has been sustainable supply of basic life support. Plants are reliable sources of sustenance and survival because of their ability to produce Oxygen, Water, and Food. This is much more important as it provides a more sustainable energy source during space travel. Unfortunately, microgravity which is a common phenomenon in space could be hindrance to plant growth and development. This study investigated response of plant growth promoters to enhance survival, yield and development of a Zea mays exposed to Microgravity simulated environment using 2D Clinostat. Plant growth stimulators that were used are Indole-3-Acetic Acid (IAA), Sodium Nitroprusside (SNP) and Thiourea (TU) at concentrations of 100 ppm and 500 ppm respectively. The Zea mays seeds were subjected to clinorotation at 0.5 rpm, and 2.5 rpm, and were observed for 120 hr. After 120hrs, the microgravity-exposed seedlings were acclimatized in experimental plants in a well-ventilated screen house for 5 days and thereafter transplanted on the field, where plant growth and yield responses were observed for 12 weeks. The study showed that addition of growth stimulators enhanced significant positive association between plant total dry weight and oxygen production efficiency. This study addresses Millennium Development Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. This it does by providing information on the possible adoption of a combination of microgravity and growth stimulation as a measure for improvement of maize, as yield increase was more than 50% through the adoption of this technology. Conclusively, growth chemo-stimulation with IAA and SNP enhanced plant growth, development and high yield of maize exposed to simulated microgravity using 2D-Clinostat.},
year = {2025}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Productivity Evaluation of Hormone-primed Maize Seedlings Exposed to Microgravity Environment Simulated with 2d Clinostat AU - Alexander Oseghale Orukpe AU - Geoffrey Obinna Anoliefo AU - Beckley Ikhajiagbe AU - Prayer Eromosele Atumah Y1 - 2025/12/09 PY - 2025 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20251306.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ajls.20251306.12 T2 - American Journal of Life Sciences JF - American Journal of Life Sciences JO - American Journal of Life Sciences SP - 180 EP - 197 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2328-5737 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20251306.12 AB - The biggest challenges in long space exploration has been sustainable supply of basic life support. Plants are reliable sources of sustenance and survival because of their ability to produce Oxygen, Water, and Food. This is much more important as it provides a more sustainable energy source during space travel. Unfortunately, microgravity which is a common phenomenon in space could be hindrance to plant growth and development. This study investigated response of plant growth promoters to enhance survival, yield and development of a Zea mays exposed to Microgravity simulated environment using 2D Clinostat. Plant growth stimulators that were used are Indole-3-Acetic Acid (IAA), Sodium Nitroprusside (SNP) and Thiourea (TU) at concentrations of 100 ppm and 500 ppm respectively. The Zea mays seeds were subjected to clinorotation at 0.5 rpm, and 2.5 rpm, and were observed for 120 hr. After 120hrs, the microgravity-exposed seedlings were acclimatized in experimental plants in a well-ventilated screen house for 5 days and thereafter transplanted on the field, where plant growth and yield responses were observed for 12 weeks. The study showed that addition of growth stimulators enhanced significant positive association between plant total dry weight and oxygen production efficiency. This study addresses Millennium Development Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. This it does by providing information on the possible adoption of a combination of microgravity and growth stimulation as a measure for improvement of maize, as yield increase was more than 50% through the adoption of this technology. Conclusively, growth chemo-stimulation with IAA and SNP enhanced plant growth, development and high yield of maize exposed to simulated microgravity using 2D-Clinostat. VL - 13 IS - 6 ER -