Introducing EDEN ISS - A European project on advancing plant cultivation technologies and operations

Plant cultivation in large-scale closed environments is challenging and several key technologies necessary for space-based plant production are not yet space-qualified or remain in early stages of development. The EDEN ISS project foresees development and demonstration of higher plant cultivation technologies, suitable for future deployment on the International Space Station and from a long-term perspective, within Moon and Mars habitats. The EDEN ISS consortium will design and test essential plant cultivation technologies using an International Standard Payload Rack form factor cultivation system for potential testing on-board the International Space Station. Furthermore, a Future Exploration Greenhouse will be designed with respect to future planetary bio-regenerative life support system deployments. The technologies will be tested in a laboratory environment as well as at the highly-isolated German Antarctic Neumayer Station III. A small and mobile container-sized test facility will be built in order to provide realistic mass flow relationships. In addition to technology development and validation, food safety and plant handling procedures will be developed. This paper describes the goals and objectives of EDEN ISS and the different project phases and milestones. Furthermore, the project consortium will be introduced and the role of each partner within the project is explained

Light Intensity Affects the Assimilation Rate and Carbohydrates Partitioning in Spinach Grown in a Controlled Environment

The cultivation of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) has been increasing during the last years in controlled environment agriculture, where light represents a key factor for controlling plant growth and development and the highest energetic costs. The aim of the experiment was to evaluate the plant’s response to two light intensities, corresponding to an optimal and a reduced level, in terms of the photosynthetic process, photoassimilates partitioning, and the biosynthesis of sucrose and starch. Plants of spinach cv. ‘Gigante d’Inverno’ were grown in a phytotron under controlled conditions, comparing two values of photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), 800 μmol m−2 s−1 (800 PPFD) and 200 μmol m−2 s−1 (200 PPFD), at a 10 h light/14 h dark regime. Compared to 800 PPFD, under 200 PPFD, plants showed a reduction in biomass accumulation and a redirection of photoassimilates to leaves, determining a leaf expansion to optimize the light interception, without changes in the photosynthetic process. A shift in carbon partitioning favouring the synthesis of starch, causing an increase in the starch/sucrose ratio at the end of light period, occurred in low-light leaves. The activity of enzymes cFBAse, SPS, and AGPase, involved in the synthesis of sucrose and starch in leaves, decreased under lower light intensity, explaining the rate of accumulation of photoassimilates

Chemical composition and yield of rhizome biomass of Arundo donax L. grown for biorefinery in the Mediterranean environment

The contribution of the rhizome to productivity of fermentable sugars and the detailed composition of rhizomes were analyzed in three mature stands of Arundo donax L. cultivated in three locations of variable fertility in the South of Italy. Although the average yearly aboveground dry biomass and rhizome amount showed large and significant differences among sites, (15.3 and 2.6 Mg ha−1 year−1 of rhizomes in the most and less productive sites respectively), rhizomes of all sites had more than 30% of the dry matter (DM) as non-structural carbohydrates (NSC). Sucrose and starch were the most abundant NSC but measurable amounts of glucose, fructose, galactose and of the valuable trisaccharide raffinose were also present. The amount of NSC in rhizomes affected their content of dry mater, and water extractives. The ash content also varied significantly among cultivation sites; the highest amount was recorded in rhizomes of the most productive site (Acerra). The abundance in cell wall components of rhizomes was similar to that of published values for the above ground biomass. The present results demonstrate that NSC content in rhizomes of mature stands is a conserved trait. Hence, rhizome biomass, thanks to its quantity and high fermentable sugars content, should be considered as a relevant fraction of the A. donax crop product whose utilization can increase the productivity and the environmental fingerprint of this crop, in view of its biomass utilization in biorefinery

Non-structural carbohydrate metabolism in the flesh of Stone fruits of the Genus Prunus (Rosaceae) – a review

Non-structural carbohydrates are abundant constituents of the ripe flesh of all stone fruits. The bulk of their content comprises sucrose, glucose, fructose and sorbitol. However, the abundance of each of these carbohydrates in the flesh differs between species, and also with its stage of development. In this article the import, subcellular compartmentation, contents, metabolism and functions of non-structural carbohydrates in the flesh of commercially cultivated stone fruits of the family Rosaceae are reviewed.Fil: Walker, Robert P. Università degli Studi di Perugia. Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali; Italia.Fil: Battistelli, Alberto. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Istituto di Ricerca sugli Ecosistemi Terrestri; Italia.Fil: Bonghi, Claudio. University of Padova Agripolis. Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment; Italy.Fil: Drincovich, María Fabiana. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Centro de Estudios Fotosintéticos y Bioquímicos (CEFOBI -CONICET); Argentina.Fil: Falchi, Rachele. University of Udine. Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences; Italy.Fil: Lara, María V. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Centro de Estudios Fotosintéticos y Bioquímicos (CEFOBI -CONICET); Argentina.Fil: Moscatello, Stefano. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Istituto di Ricerca sugli Ecosistemi Terrestri; Italia.Fil: Vizzotto, Giannina. University of Udine. Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental, and Animal Sciences; Italy.Fil: Famiani, Franco. Università degli Studi di Perugia. Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali; Italia

Seawater carbonate chemistry and carbon and nitrogen allocation strategy in Posidonia oceanica

Rising atmospheric CO2 causes ocean acidification that represents one of the major ecological threats for marine biota. We tested the hypothesis that long-term exposure to increased CO2 level and acidification in a natural CO2 vent system alters carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) metabolism in Posidonia oceanica L. (Delile), affecting its resilience, or capability to restore the physiological homeostasis, and the nutritional quality of organic matter available for grazers. Seawater acidification decreased the C to N ratio in P. oceanica tissues and increased grazing rate, shoot density, leaf proteins and asparagine accumulation in rhizomes, while the maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II was unaffected. The 13C-dilution in both structural and non-structural C metabolites in the acidified site indicated quali-quantitative changes of C source and/or increased isotopic fractionation during C uptake and carboxylation associated with the higher CO2 level. The decreased C:N ratio in the acidified site suggests an increased N availability, leading to a greater storage of 15N-enriched compounds in rhizomes. The amount of the more dynamic C storage form, sucrose, decreased in rhizomes of the acidified site in response to the enhanced energy demand due to higher shoot recruitment and N compound synthesis, without affecting starch reserves. The ability to modulate the balance between stable and dynamic C reserves could represent a key ecophysiological mechanism for P. oceanica resilience under environmental perturbation. Finally, alteration in C and N dynamics promoted a positive contribution of this seagrass to the local food web