posted 03-15-2021 06:34 AM            

Targeting Improved Cotton Through Orbital Cultivation (TICTOC) investigates the morphological and molecular adaptations of cotton seedlings to the microgravity environment encountered in the International Space Station (ISS).

The Gilroy Lab TICTOC team at their KSC lab: Sarah Swanson, Simon Gilroy, Richard Barker and Arkadipta Bakshi. Targeting Improved Cotton Through Orbital Cultivation (TICTOC) investigates the morphological and molecular adaptations of cotton seedlings to the microgravity environment encountered in the International Space Station (ISS). Image courtesy of Deb Wells.

posted 03-15-2021 08:42 AM               

Target, the retail store, is funding the investigation Targeting Improved Cotton Through On-orbit Cultivation (TICTOC) that studies how root system architecture affects plant resilience to stress, water-use efficiency, and carbon sequestration during the critical phase of seedling establishment. Roots play a central role in plant stress resistance and survival, but their growth patterns depend upon gravity. This investigation examines how environmental factors and genes control development of roots in the absence of gravity.