During the 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, an abstract was presented by researchers from the University of Alberta proposing that rice modified genetically could grow in the Martian regolith.
The Martian, the bestselling book by Andy Weir published in 2011, revolves around the story of botanist Mark Watney who is stranded on Mars and tries to cultivate food. While Watney focused on planting potatoes, recent findings presented at the 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference by a team of interdisciplinary researchers from the University of Arizona indicate that rice could be a more viable option for future Martian farmers like Watney.
According to the team’s abstract, Rice Can Grow and Survive in Martian Regolith with Challenges That Could be Overcome Through Control of Stress-Related Genes, the main hindrance in cultivating food on Mars is the existence of perchlorate salts, which have been detected in the Martian soil and are known to be poisonous for plants.
The teams then grew three varieties of rice, including one wild-type and two gene-edited lines with genetic mutations that better enable them to respond to stress, such as drought, sugar starvation, or salinity. These varieties were grown in the MMS, as well as a regular potted mix and a hybrid of the two. While plants were able to grow in the Martian simulant, they were not as developed as those grown in the potting soil and hybrid mix. Replacing just a quarter of the Martian simulant with potting soil resulted in improved development.
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