Surviving in space – plant proteins may hold the key

The plan for humans to live on the Moon and Mars still has a lot of unanswered questions. One thing
scientists do know is that we will need to take building materials and plants with us until we can
establish ‘on-the-ground’ mining and farming in space.

What can we learn about growing crops in space, while we are here on Earth? A lot!

At ANU, there’s fascinating ongoing research focussing on aquaporins—proteins found in the cell
membranes of organisms from every Kingdom of Life. Aquaporins help cells adjust to changes in the
amount of water and other solutes in their environment. Cells can turn aquaporins on and off,
letting water or other solutes in or out, helping them survive changes in water availability, osmotic
stress and changes in pressure. All challenges that face humans looking to live in space and the
plants they hope to grow there.

Prof Anna Moore, Director of the ANU Institute for Space (InSpace), asks Mission Specialist Dr
Caitlin Byrt of the Research School of Biology, an expert on aquaporins and organiser of an
upcoming workshop, to explain how aquaporins could help make homegrown space food possible.

What do we know about how aquaporins affect plants?

Plants have more aquaporins and many different types of aquaporins compared to other organisms.
On Earth and in space, aquaporins serve as transport and signalling powerhouses, helping living cells
to regulate the movement of water and many other solutes in and around different compartments
and tissues.
We have learned that by manipulating aquaporin function in plants we can change how well they
tolerate environmental stresses, such as drought and salinity, and we can improve how productive
they are when they are under environmental stress. This is helping us look at the challenge of
growing food in times of drought or in harsh conditions where food isn’t typically grown on Earth.

But one difference for plants on Earth relative to plants in space is where their water comes from.
On Earth, most plants source their water and nutrients from their surrounding environment. In
space, we have to supply the water and nutrients that plants need. That changes the dynamics of
the growing environment, and it adds a challenge because water isn’t abundant in space. It’s an
even more precious commodity in space than on Earth.

So when we think of space travel, and taking all of our supplies with us, that includes water, which
creates a big challenge for watering space plants when humans need water too?

Absolutely. As plants grow, they transpire water. This means they release water vapour. Sometimes
only 5% of the water absorbed by plants remains in the plant for growth.

At the International Space Station, excess water in the air is cooled and condensed by heat
exchangers to keep the humidity around 60% so that water can be collected and reused and to keep
equipment and astronauts functioning optimally. Growing plants increases the energy bill required
to maintain the desired air humidity because the excess transpired water has to be condensed.

But here’s where aquaporins could change things. They influence water movement throughout
plants and impact transpiration. This means that by manipulating aquaporin function and related
signalling processes, we could engineer plants that are better suited for growing in space.

It’s amazing to think that these proteins may hold the key to helping us make life better in harsh
conditions both on Earth and in space. Tell us about your upcoming virtual workshop, where we
can learn more.

Over the month of November, ANU with support from the Australia-Japan Foundation and Canberra
Innovation Network, is hosting a free online workshop to develop innovative ideas for advancing
technology using aquaporins. This is about optimising aquaporin functions for many different
situations on Earth and in space. I am excited that our upcoming workshop will include coverage of
aquaporin research previously conducted by teams at NASA, and partner organisations who are
pioneers in sending aquaporins into space. We can learn about using aquaporins in space from work
here on Earth, but we can also learn about aquaporins on Earth from how they behave in space too.
It’s going to be fascinating!

You can register to join us and get more information on the workshops here:

https://cbrin.com.au/events/aquaporins-solutions-exploring-how-aquaporins-can-solve-food-and-
water-challenges/

2 November https://live.remo.co/e/aquaporins

10 November https://live.remo.co/e/aquaporins-copy
16 November https://live.remo.co/e/aquaporin-engineering-and-other-

23 November https://live.remo.co/e/aquaporins-collablab-and-present