A role for ecophysiology in the ’omics’ era

Abstract

Plant Ecophysiology is the study on how Plant Physiology is modulated by the environment. This discipline could have benefited greatly from the development of the different 'omic' technologies (from genomics to metabolomics). Instead, the overall impression is that ecophysiology and 'omics' have developed mostly independent each other. Here we provide a literature analysis over the past 20 years which fully confirms this view. Then, we review a few examples of studies in which ecophysiology and 'omics' studies have combined to different extents to illustrate the potential benefits from their mutualistic interaction. In addition, we debate on the possibilities of working with plants other than Arabidopsis, which is illustrated with some examples of fascinating plants from extreme environments of the world, what we call the 'sherplants'. Finally, we raise a call to both communities (ecophysiology and 'omics') to integrate these disciplines to enter an 'ecophysiolomics era' to maximize our understanding about plant mechanisms from a multidisciplinary approach.

How do vascular plants perform photosynthesis in extreme environments? An integrative ecophysiological and biochemical story

“…This metabolic reprogramming provides particular compounds to the plant, such as compatible solutes, antioxidants and stress‐responsive proteins (Obata and Fernie, ). The combination of metabolomics, physiological traits and statistical modelling offers new opportunities to understand how metabolic networks regulate physiological traits, and vice versa (Flexas and Gago, ).…”

Photosynthesis and photosynthetic efficiencies along the terrestrial plant’s phylogeny: lessons for improving crop photosynthesis

“…In view of this important lack of knowledge, a significant effort has been made over the last few years to estimate g m in a large number of species belonging to underrated phylogenetic groups – and to very variable environmental conditions to avoid confounding results due to climatic preferences of species belonging to different groups (Flexas and Gago, ) – as well as to assess the involvement of morphoanatomical traits in setting maximum g m for each species (Gago et al ., ; Carriquí et al ., , ; Tosens et al ., ; Veromann‐Jürgenson et al ., ; Nadal et al ., ; Xiong et al ., ). The aim of this review was to provide an updated view on how recent empirical evidence has revealed a phylogenetic trend consisting of a progressive increase of photosynthetic capacity and photosynthetic water and nitrogen use efficiency from more basal lineages to angiosperms.…”

Low‐temperature tolerance of the Antarctic species Deschampsia antarctica: A complex metabolic response associated with nutrient remobilization

“…Nowadays, plant ecophysiology could benefit from the use of the new “omics” technologies to further decipher the mechanisms driving plant responses under field conditions (Flexas & Gago, ). Metabolomics offer the biochemical basis to understand the physiological plant responses and their underlying metabolic pathways that finally can promote the generation of new biotechnological tools (Obata & Fernie, ; de Abreu e Lima et al, ).…”