Christopher Saski, associate professor of systems genomics at Clemson's Plant and Environmental Sciences Department | Clemson.edu
Christopher Saski, associate professor of systems genomics at Clemson's Plant and Environmental Sciences Department | Clemson.edu
On Dec. 21, a Clemson researcher's cotton regeneration research, adorned with Clemson stickers, took off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, headed to the International Space Station (ISS).
According to Clemson News, the cotton regeneration research was led by Christopher Saski, associate professor of systems genomics at Clemson's Plant and Environmental Sciences Department.
"Conducting these experiments in microgravity gives us a unique environment to disentangle the genetics of somatic embryogenesis — regenerating a whole plant from a single cell — and we believe we can translate this research into application," Saski said, according to Clemson News. "This project will lead to new understanding of the genes involved. As we understand it now, this genetic program is encoded in all crop genomes, but it is suppressed. This research could ultimately allow us to switch on this genetic program in other crops and be able to do genome editing and engineering more readily and directly on commercial varieties… and eventually provide an accelerated path to food, fuel and fiber for a growing population of people on Earth."
The research was carried by a NASA-SpaceX Dragon resupply spacecraft, which blasted off carrying more than 6,500 pounds of science experiments and crew supplies.
Saski’s project won the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space's (CASIS) Cotton Sustainability Challenge and seeks to explore how the cotton genome reacts in microgravity and normal gravity.
“When I started my position as a researcher here at Clemson, I quickly realized that there really are no boundaries to the questions that one can ask,” Saski told Clemson News. “I just created a vision, worked hard and tried to set the bar high. I envision that translation of this research into application could enable deep-space exploration missions, it could allow for plants to be stored as single cells, and you could store and supply a diversity of plant species for astronauts who are doing research or even living on another planet.”
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