The development of Col-0 and WS plants on orbit differs from that on the ground as demonstrated by the comparison of the gene expression profiles between 4 days old to 8 days old plant in the two environments. The Col-0 plants used different genes reflecting different physiological processes than WS plants, suggesting the role of the genetic background in the developmental decisions. The 4 days old Col-0 plant in orbit showed deficit in wax and suberin production relatively to the 8 days old plants, the difference unregistered on the ground. There was more dramatic difference in the overexpression of the root system development and anatomical structure development genes in 8 days old plants than in 4 days old plant in both genotypes on the ground than in flight, implying smaller root developmental gap between 4 days and 8 days old roots in orbit. The WS plant uniquely showed overexpression of the photosynthesis related genes in the 4 days old roots relative to 8 days old root in the spaceflight environment but not on the ground. The seeds germinated in the novel growth environment of ISS implemented different developmental strategies as captured by the genes expression patterns, than seeds developing on the ground.