Dear AWG Members,
I’m introducing a new project idea for the PlantAWG: Plant Growth Chamber Subgroup. If you’re interested, please fill out this form so we can figure out what time is best to meet! (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdL69rbFcyrw55g87nhoXxQ4WAhnJ7GHB5CdVpvNnCIx-CRrg/viewform?usp=publish-editor)! 
Summary
Sealed growth chambers can create low-oxygen conditions, altering hypoxia/ROS signaling, which is known to confound microgravity effects. The EMCS hardware (OSD-314) provides a tightly controlled atmosphere (air-tight, regulated N₂/O₂/CO₂, ethylene removal), whereas the CARA plates (OSD-120) were exposed to the ambient ISS atmosphere. Prior analyses found clear hypoxic stress signatures. Starting with OSD-314 and OSD-120, this subgroup aims to compare sealed vs. ambient ISS growth conditions to help separate potential hypoxia responses from broader spaceflight environmental effects. For an overall approach, we’ll be conducting comparative transcriptomic analyses across selected datasets, pathway analyses, and creating a harmonized metadata table.
Research Question
Do sealed (EMCS) vs. ambient-cabin growth conditions produce distinct hypoxia/ROS transcriptional signatures in space-grown Arabidopsis? The hypothesis is that EMCS-grown plants will show stronger enrichment of hypoxia/ROS pathways, whereas a subset of gravitropism/cytoskeleton-related pathways will be consistent across chamber types.
Deliverables
The expected deliverables include a harmonized metadata table and a summarized gene- and pathway-level map distinguishing between the datasets and hardwares (for comparison), with the goal of presenting the results at a conference such as ASGSR or AGU and/or a submission to GSR.
@borjabarbero @rachelcrivero @dr.richard.barker @rtscott2001
