M.E. Cook1 and J.L Croxdale2. 1Dept of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, and 2 Dept of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison. 1 Dept of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, and 2 Dept of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Potato tubers that form in microgravity are not unlike those that form on Earth.
Tubers formed in both places are similar in size, weight, and shape.
Both have highly ordered interior cell arrangements, and the cells contain a typical complement of organelles in addition to proteinaceous crystals. Although there are no visible differences in wall structure, some cell walls of spaceflight tubers are thinner than those of control tubers. We hypothesized that these walls might not contain the same wall components, or that the components might be present in differing amounts or in spatially different patterns. We evaluated the presence and spatial distribution of these wall components in tuber cells.