According to an astrobiology experiment published in the journal communication biology on the 12th, scientists studied the feasibility of plant growth on the moon and showed that Arabidopsis plants grew slower in lunar soil samples and showed more signs of stress than in earth volcanic ash. These lunar soils are samples collected during the Apollo mission. Scientists pointed out that these findings show that in order for plants to grow effectively in lunar soil, the interaction between plants and lunar soil needs to be further studied. The University of Florida research team tested whether lunar soil can support plant life. They let Arabidopsis (a flowering plant produced in Europe and Africa) grow in 12 soil samples collected by Apollo 11, 12 and 17 lunar missions. Because the samples collected during each mission came from different soil layers, Apollo 11 samples were exposed to the lunar surface longer than Apollo 12 and 17 samples. The team examined whether there were differences in growth and gene expression between these plants and compared with Arabidopsis grown in 16 samples of earth's volcanic ash (the particle size and mineral composition of volcanic ash are similar to lunar soil). The researchers found that although seeds can grow in all soil environments, plants in lunar soil grow more slowly than in volcanic ash, take longer to spread their leaves and have more stagnant roots. Although some lunar soil plants are similar in shape and color to those grown in volcanic ash, others are stunted and contain reddish melanin - a typical sign of plant stress. Genetic analysis of three smaller plants with dim color showed that they had more than 1000 genes (mostly related to stress) with different expression levels from plants in volcanic ash. In addition, the researchers found that the plants grown in Apollo 11 samples grew weaker than those in Apollo 12 and 17 samples, and expressed more different levels of genes than those in volcanic ash. The plants in Apollo 11, 12 and 17 samples expressed 465, 265 and 113 genes at different levels, respectively. 71% of these genes are related to stress caused by salt, metal and reactive oxygen molecules. These findings suggest that although lunar soils can be used for planting, they support plant growth at a lower level than volcanic ash, especially those more exposed to the lunar surface. The researchers speculate that cosmic rays and solar wind damage the lunar soil, and these lunar soils contain tiny iron particles, or induce stress responses of plants and damage their development. punctuate In the sci-fi film "Mars rescue", there is such a bridge: astronauts try their best to grow potatoes on Mars and rely on potatoes to survive on Mars. The discovery that plants can grow in lunar soil once again opens our brain: since plants can grow in lunar soil, can plants be planted in Martian soil in the future? In addition, considering the extreme environmental conditions on the moon, although planting plants on the lunar soil is not equal to planting plants on the moon, is it possible to build a "greenhouse" suitable for plant growth on the moon in the future? These question marks, I believe that future space exploration will give the answer. (Xinhua News Agency)