Transcriptional profiling of roots and shoots from Brachypodium distachyon seedlings flown on the ISS

Yet, most investigations of plant adaptation to the spaceflight environment have been carried out on the dicotyledonous model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. It remains unknown whether the conclusions from such studies can be extrapolated to monocotyledonous plants.

To fill this knowledge gap, seedlings of three different accessions of Brachypodium distachyon (Bd21, Bd21-3, and Gaz8), a model for temperate grasses including cereal crops, were grown on the International Space Station in the Veggie hardware and on the ground in matched conditions. To synchronize germination, seedlings were grown for 24 hours in red light. Then, seedlings were grown with green/blue/red light using a 24 hour photo period for 4 additional days.