AUTHOR=Zhang Junya , Müller Bárbara S. F. , Tyre Kevin N. , Hersh Hope L. , Bai Fang , Hu Ying , Resende Marcio F. R. , Rathinasabapathi Bala , Settles A. Mark TITLE=Competitive Growth Assay of Mutagenized Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Compatible With the International Space Station Veggie Plant Growth Chamber JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science VOLUME=11 YEAR=2020 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2020.00631 DOI=10.3389/fpls.2020.00631 ISSN=1664-462X ABSTRACT=
A biological life support system for spaceflight would capture carbon dioxide waste produced by living and working in space to generate useful organic compounds. Photosynthesis is the primary mechanism to fix carbon into organic molecules. Microalgae are highly efficient at converting light, water, and carbon dioxide into biomass, particularly under limiting, artificial light conditions that are a necessity in space photosynthetic production. Although there is great promise in developing algae for chemical or food production in space, most spaceflight algae growth studies have been conducted on solid agar-media to avoid handling liquids in microgravity. Here we report that breathable plastic tissue culture bags can support robust growth of