This technology does not only offer the potential to grow fruit on long-duration space missions, it could also be used on Earth in indoor or urban farms.įor more details, read the article on the USDA ARS website. They over-expressed a key flowering regulator gene that causes the plum trees to flower all the time, eliminating the need for cold dormancy. Their team genetically engineered plum trees to continually flower and produce fruit like a tomato plant. These fruit trees also require long periods of cold annually to flower and renew their growth.ĭardick's team borrowed an idea from a common backyard garden staple, the tomato. 'CRISPR gene editing is no longer confined to Earth,' reports Engadget: The new approach clears the way for other research around DNA repair in space. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have worked with NASA to develop a continuous flowering plum plant to help astronauts maintain healthy diets during those extended voyages.Īccording to Chris Dardick, lead scientist and plant molecular biologist at the ARS Appalachian Fruit Research Station, most fruits that are key components of our diet, such as apples, pears, peaches, cherries, grapes, plums, raspberries, oranges, and bananas grow on trees or vines that take years to grow. The team of researchers led by Sarah Stahl-Rommel has successfully demonstrated the technique and its viability aboard the International Space Station. “Ultimately, we can use this knowledge to help protect astronauts from DNA damage caused by cosmic radiation on long voyages and to enable genome editing in space,” Emily Gleason, a Genes in Space program investigator said in a statement.Scientists at the U.S. Through the experiment, astronauts will be able to protect their selves from cosmic radiation by repairing their own DNA. ![]() Even though the ISS is still protected by the Earth’s magnetic field, staying onboard for a long period of time exposes astronauts to radiation levels that are 30 times greater than those on the planet’s surface. This aspect is extremely important for astronauts because space missions typically take six months or longer, which means they are at risk of being exposed to radiation hazards. Since the experiment was conducted in space, cosmic radiation was introduced during the editing sequence.Īlthough the final result of the experiment is yet to be published as an official study, it is already being lauded as a breakthrough since it is a clear indication that DNA editing can now be done in space. To edit the yeast’s genome, they used CRISPR-Cas9, a gene-editing technology that was adapted from the same editing system that naturally occurs in bacteria.Īfter editing or cutting into their sample, it was left alone to allow it to repair that damage that has been done to its DNA, Science Alert reported. Using the same idea as the basis for their experiment, astronauts Christina Kock and Nick Hague turned to the DNA of brewer’s yeast as their main sample. For their entry, the students wanted to recreate radiation damage to an organism by creating breaks into the DNA strands of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast. They submitted their proposal to NASA’s Genes in Space program. The premise behind the study was first proposed by the students Rebecca Rebecca Li, Aarthi Vijayakumar, Michelle Sung and David Li of Mounds View High School in Arden Hills, Minnesota. ![]() ![]() According to the astronauts, their successful experiment can help in repairing human DNA damaged by cosmic radiation. In a historic move, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) were able to edit DNA in space using CRISPR-Cas9.
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