Gravimetric phenotyping of whole plant transpiration responses to atmospheric vapour pressure deficit identifies genotypic variation in water use efficiency

Ryan, Annette and Dodd, Ian Charles and Rothwell, Shane Andrew and Jones, Rosalind June Gwenda and Tardieu, F. and Draye, Xavier and Davies, William John (2016) Gravimetric phenotyping of whole plant transpiration responses to atmospheric vapour pressure deficit identifies genotypic variation in water use efficiency. Plant Science, 251. pp. 101-109. ISSN 0168-9452

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Abstract

There is increasing interest in rapidly identifying genotypes with improved water use efficiency, exemplified by the development of whole plant phenotyping platforms that automatically measure plant growth and water use. Transpirational responses to atmospheric vapour pressure deficit (VPD) and whole plant water use efficiency (WUE, defined as the accumulation of above ground biomass per unit of water used) were measured in 100 maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes. Using a glasshouse based phenotyping platform with naturally varying VPD (1.5 to 3.8 kPa), a 2-fold variation in WUE was identified in well-watered plants. Regression analysis of transpiration versus VPD under these conditions, and subsequent whole plant gas exchange at imposed VPDs (0.8 to 3.4 kPa) showed identical responses in specific genotypes. Genotype response of transpiration versus VPD fell into two categories: 1) a linear increase in transpiration rate with VPD with low (high WUE) or high (low WUE) transpiration rate at all VPDs, 2) a non-linear response with a pronounced change point at low VPD (high WUE) or high VPD (low WUE). In the latter group, high WUE genotypes required a significantly lower VPD before transpiration was restricted, and had a significantly lower rate of transpiration in response to VPD after this point, when compared to low WUE genotypes. Change point values were significantly positively correlated with stomatal sensitivity to VPD. A change point in stomatal response to VPD may explain why some genotypes show contradictory WUE rankings according to whether they are measured under glasshouse or field conditions. Furthermore, this novel use of a high throughput phenotyping platform successfully reproduced the gas exchange responses of individuals measured in whole plant chambers, accelerating the identification of plants with high WUE.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Plant Science
Additional Information:
This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Plant Science. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Plant Science, 251, 2016 DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2015.05.018
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1100/1110
Subjects:
?? water use efficiencyatmospheric vapour pressure deficitphenotyping platformwhole plant transpirationplant sciencegeneticsagronomy and crop science ??
ID Code:
79809
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
01 Jun 2016 14:08
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
15 Mar 2024 00:47