In perennial energy crop breeding programmes, it can take several years before a mature yield is reached when potential new varieties can be scored. Modern plant breeding technologies have focussed on molecular markers, but for many crop species, this technology is unavailable. Therefore, prematurity predictors of harvestable yield would accelerate the release of new varieties. Metabolic biomarkers are routinely used in medicine, but they have been largely overlooked as predictive tools in plant science. We aimed to identify biomarkers of productivity in the bioenergy crop, Miscanthus, that could be used prognostically to predict future yields. This study identified a metabolic profile reflecting productivity in Miscanthus by correlating the summer carbohydrate composition of multiple genotypes with final yield 6 months later. Consistent and strong, significant correlations were observed between carbohydrate metrics and biomass traits at two separate field sites over 2 years. Machine‐learning feature selection was used to optimize carbohydrate metrics for support vector regression models, which were able to predict interyear biomass traits with a correlation (R) of >0.67 between predicted and actual values. To identify a causal basis for the relationships between the glycome profile and biomass, a 13C‐labelling experiment compared carbohydrate partitioning between high‐ and low‐yielding genotypes. A lower yielding and slower growing genotype partitioned a greater percentage of the 13C pulse into starch compared to a faster growing genotype where a greater percentage was located in the structural biomass. These results supported a link between plant performance and carbon flow through two rival pathways (starch vs. sucrose), with higher yielding plants exhibiting greater partitioning into structural biomass, via sucrose metabolism, rather than starch. Our results demonstrate that the plant metabolome can be used prognostically to anticipate future yields and this is a method that could be used to accelerate selection in perennial energy crop breeding programmes.
Wheat plants growing under Mediterranean rain-fed conditions are exposed to water deficit, particularly during the grain filling period, and this can lead to a strong reduction in grain yield (GY). This study examines the effects of water deficit after during the grain filling period on photosynthetic and water-use efficiencies at the leaf and whole-plant level for 14 bread wheat genotypes grown in pots under glasshouse conditions. two glasshouse experiments were conducted, one in a conventional glasshouse at the Universidad de Talca, Chile (Experiment 1), and another at the National Plant Phenomics Centre (NPPC), Aberystwyth, UK (Experiment 2), in 2015. Plants were grown under wellwatered (WW) and water-limited (WL) conditions during grain filling. The reductions in leaf water potential (Ψ), net CO 2 assimilation (An) and stomatal conductance (gs) due to water deficit were 79, 35 and 55%, respectively, during grain filling but no significant differences were found among genotypes. However, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (as determined on dark-adapted and illuminated leaves) and chlorophyll content (Chl) were significantly different among genotypes, but not between water conditions. Under both water conditions, An presented a positive and linear relationship with the effective photochemical quantum yield of Photosystem II (Y(II)) and the maximum rate of electron transport (ETRmax), and negative with the quantum yield of non-photochemical energy conversion in Photosystem II (Y(NPQ)). The relationship between An and Chl was positive and linear for both water conditions, but under WL conditions An tended to be lower at any Chl value. Both, instantaneous (An/E) and intrinsic (An/gs) water-use efficiencies at the leaf level exhibited a positive and linear relationship with plant water-use efficiency (WUEp = plant dry weight/water use). Carbon discrimination (Δ 13 C) in kernels presented a negative relationship with WUep, at both WW and WL conditions, and a positive relationship with GY. Our results indicate that during grain filling wheat plants face limitations to the assimilation process due to natural senesce and water stress. the reduction in An and gs after anthesis in both water conditions was mainly due a decline in the chlorophyll content (non-stomatal limitation), whereas the observed differences between water conditions were mainly due to a stomatal limitation.In Mediterranean climatic regions, annual average temperatures have increased and precipitation decreased during the last century 1-3 , and this phenomenon has also affected Chile 4 . In addition, precipitation in Chile is strongly concentrated in winter and also manifests large inter-annual variability. Thus, wheat plants growing under rainfed conditions are exposed to a progressive water deficit starting from heading, leading to a 'terminal drought stress' , which reduces grain yield (GY). Therefore, enhancing crop resilience is a priority for Mediterranean environments and may also provide a better understanding of the physiological mechanisms ...
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.