The plant (Nicotiana benthamiana) evolved to reproduce rapidly and be drought-resistant. In central Australia, where it’s a native, lack of water and survival was the basis of its evolution. The plant has existed in a region which is sometimes compared to Mars. It’s the standard plant for a vast range of testing purposes, including virology.
Researchers from the Queensland University of Technology have discovered that the lack of an immune system means the plant has more energy for growth and reproduction, two very useful factors in growing plants in space. It sets seed after low volumes of water, another good economic option.
These characteristics can be included in food crops grown in space. High viability, good economic values, and a high reproductive rate are all strong positives. The other part of the theory is that in the sterile environment of space, the lack of an immune system won’t be an issue.
Not wishing to be too negative, because I know how important this discovery is and I’m all in favor of a good renewable source of food in space:
1. Food eaten on Earth is part of a complex environment. We generally eat plants which do have immune systems, and their processed versions, with related nutrients. What are the dietary ramifications of foods without these materials?
2. How do you guarantee a good balanced diet with synthetic foods? Humans are omnivores, and deficiencies can be real trouble.
3. This plant has apparently never been used as a food plant? There’s no mention of local Aboriginal use, which would be useful to know about. Aboriginal “bush tucker” knowledge is usually very enlightening.
4. Humans have a raging microbiological system inside and out. It’s a virtual global ecology on the move. How do you guarantee a sterile environment in a place where humans leave a trail of bacterial, fungal, and viral particulates wherever they go?
5. One of the problems of carrying human microorganisms in to space is that the only known available sources of nutrition for these organisms will be those supplied by humans. Doesn’t that make anything and everything a target for these organisms? What if these organisms adapt to space, evolve, and create new hazards? What if they find local nutrients on another planet, and become more virulent, better adapted to the new planet than the hybrid plants, and people, for that matter?
6. Molds in particular are highly aggressive, and can break down practically anything, living or dead. One fungal spore can be a major nuke in any organic system. A plant with no immune system would be at serious risk.
7. The theory of “no immune system” apparently hasn’t yet been trialed for field viability. Obviously new plants with this characteristic will have to be checked out for survivability. When the first GM potatoes were trialed, they were fine in the lab, and then rotted away when grown naturally.
Isaac Asimov was a biologist. He wrote a very interesting story called “Mother Earth”, in which the various adaptions of humans and plants were the major background. In this story, the people from the “Outer Worlds” stuck to an inflexible biological profile, and the result was a mess.
Microorganisms are the governing machinery of life on Earth. Plants can’t grow at all without them. They need microbes to deliver usable nitrogen and break down soil chemistry, among other things. New fertilizers include biota to improve plant yields.
Waddling out in to space without a close eye on the microbiological issues is likely to be a serious mistake. This discovery is super-important. Let’s not stuff it up by ignoring the obvious. Test it, check it, take the new plants apart cell by cell, but let’s get it right, guys.
