Structural and functional organization of mitochondria in soybean root statocytes under microgravitation.

Klimchuk D.O.

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The effects of microgravity and ethylene on morphology and ultrastructural organization of mitochondria in root statocytes of soybean seedlings grown for 6 days on the board of the space shuttle Columbia during the STS-87 mission were investigated. The spaceflight seedlings and the ground-grown control seedlings were grown in BRIG (Biological Research in Canister) in the presence of KMnO₄ to remove ethylene. It was revealed that irrespectively of KMnO₄ treatment the mitochondria in the spaceflight seedlings were characterized by round or oviform and by low electron density of organelle matrix, whereas the organelles in the ground controls were polymorphic in shape and had higher electron density of matrix. The possible mechanisms of morphological and ultrastructural rearrangements of mitochondria that may be involved in adaptation processes of soybean seedlings to microgravity conditions are discussed.

Tsitologiya i Genetika 2007, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 30-35

E-mail: dklemchuk zeos.net

Klimchuk D.O. Structural and functional organization of mitochondria in soybean root statocytes under microgravitation., Tsitol Genet., 2007, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 30-35.