A genetic link between leaf carbon isotope composition and whole-plant water use efficiency in the C grass Setaria.

Genetic selection for whole-plant water use efficiency (yield per transpiration; WUE ) in any crop-breeding programme requires high-throughput phenotyping of component traits of WUE such as intrinsic water use efficiency (WUE ; CO assimilation rate per stomatal conductance). Measuring WUE by gas exchange measurements is laborious and time consuming and may not reflect an integrated WUE over the life of the leaf. Alternatively, leaf carbon stable isotope composition (δ C ) has been suggested as a potential time-integrated proxy for WUE that may provide a tool to screen for WUE .

Components of Water Use Efficiency Have Unique Genetic Signatures in the Model C Grass .

Plant growth and water use are interrelated processes influenced by genetically controlled morphological and biochemical characteristics. Improving plant water use efficiency (WUE) to sustain growth in different environments is an important breeding objective that can improve crop yields and enhance agricultural sustainability. However, genetic improvement of WUE using traditional methods has proven difficult due to the low throughput and environmental heterogeneity of field settings.

Cell wall properties in Oryza sativa influence mesophyll CO conductance.

Diffusion of CO from the leaf intercellular air space to the site of carboxylation (g ) is a potential trait for increasing net rates of CO assimilation (A ), photosynthetic efficiency, and crop productivity. Leaf anatomy plays a key role in this process; however, there are few investigations into how cell wall properties impact g and A . Online carbon isotope discrimination was used to determine g and A in Oryza sativa wild-type (WT) plants and mutants with disruptions in cell wall mixed-linkage glucan (MLG) production (CslF6 knockouts) under high- and low-light growth conditions.

Relationship of leaf oxygen and carbon isotopic composition with transpiration efficiency in the C4 grasses Setaria viridis and Setaria italica.

Leaf carbon and oxygen isotope ratios can potentially provide a time-integrated proxy for stomatal conductance (gs) and transpiration rate (E), and can be used to estimate transpiration efficiency (TE). In this study, we found significant relationships of bulk leaf carbon isotopic signature (δ13CBL) and bulk leaf oxygen enrichment above source water (Δ18OBL) with gas exchange and TE in the model C4 grasses Setaria viridis and S. italica.

Carbon isotopes and water use efficiency in C4 plants.

Drought is a major agricultural problem worldwide. Therefore, selection for increased water use efficiency (WUE) in food and biofuel crop species will be an important trait in plant breeding programs. The leaf carbon isotopic composition (δ(13)Cleaf) has been suggested to serve as a rapid and effective high throughput phenotyping method for WUE in both C3 and C4 species.

Evaluation of water-use efficiency in foxtail millet (Setaria italica) using visible-near infrared and thermal spectral sensing techniques.

Water limitations decrease stomatal conductance (g(s)) and, in turn, photosynthetic rate (A(net)), resulting in decreased crop productivity. The current techniques for evaluating these physiological responses are limited to leaf-level measures acquired by measuring leaf-level gas exchange. In this regard, proximal sensing techniques can be a useful tool in studying plant biology as they can be used to acquire plant-level measures in a high-throughput manner.

Water uptake of Alaskan tundra evergreens during the winter-spring transition.

Premise Of The Study: The cold season in the Arctic extends over 8 to 9 mo, yet little is known about vascular plant physiology during this period. Evergreen species photosynthesize under the snow, implying that they are exchanging water with the atmosphere. However, liquid water available for plant uptake may be limited at this time.

The role of effective leaf mixing length in the relationship between the δ18 O of stem cellulose and source water across a salinity gradient.

Previous mangrove tree ring studies attempted, unsuccessfully, to relate the δ(18) O of trunk cellulose (δ(18) O(CELL) ) to the δ(18) O of source water (δ(18) O(SW) ). Here, we tested whether biochemical fractionation associated with one of the oxygen in the cellulose glucose moiety or variation in leaf water oxygen isotope fractionation (Δ(LW) ) can interfere with the δ(18) O(SW) signal as it is recorded in the δ(18) O(CELL) of mangrove (saltwater) and hammock (freshwater) plants. We selected two transects experiencing a salinity gradient, located in the Florida Keys, USA.