BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN CANISTERS SYMBIOTIC NODULATION IN A REDUCED GRAVITY
ENVIRONMENT (BRIC-SYNRGE)
Research Area: Plant Biology
Expedition(s): 27/28
Principal Investigator(s): ● Gary W. Stutte, PhD, Dynamac Corporation, Cape Canaveral,
Florida
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
Biological Research in Canisters Symbiotic
Nodulation in a Reduced Gravity Environment (BRIC-
SyNRGE) investigates microgravity effects associated
with microbe-host interactions and cell-cell
communication using a plant-bacteria model system.
Medicago truncatula (barrel medic) seedlings are
grown in orbit in the presence of genetically marked
strains of nitrogen-fixing bacteria of the species
Sinorhizobium meliloti. These bacteria are able to
form a mutualistic symbiosis (relationship between
different species in which both benefit) with
leguminous plants. On Earth, this symbiotic plant-
bacteria relationship benefits both crops for humans
and livestock.EARTH BENEFITS
Plant-bacteria symbiosis accounts for a large percentage of human and livestock food
production on Earth, particularly in nitrogen-depleted soil. BRIC-SyNRGE adds to the knowledge
base of this plant-bacteria mechanism.
SPACE BENEFITS
BRIC-SyNRGE directly addresses the impact of the space
environment on microbial virulence in a constructed
ecosystem. The establishment of a controlled environment,
legume-rhizobium ecosystem, to utilize biological fixation to
recycle nitrogen and reduce food resupply benefits long-
duration transit and planetary surface habitation missions.
Preliminary work has indicated that establishment of the
legume-rhizobium ecosystem enables Martian regolith
(loose material covering rock) stimulants to support plant
growth. The M. truncatula-S. meliloti system is a well-
defined biological model system for studying plant/microbe
interactions and the biological and genomic tools are
available to determine whether the virulence of S. meliloti is
increased in the space environment. BRIC-SyNRGE is designed to directly test the hypothesis
Medicago truncatula (barrel medic) leaf
sample; brown markings show beneficial
nodulation due to bacterial inoculation. NASA
image.Medicago truncatula (barrel medic)
seedlings grown inside a Biological
Research In Canisters Petri Dish
Fixation Unit. NASA image.