Testing CO2 assimilation of Various Cultivars of Maize over Varying Temperature Levels and Light Intensities
Advisor(s)
Dr. Sarah Stainbrook; Washington University of St. Louis
Discipline
Biology
Start Date
21-4-2021 9:10 AM
End Date
21-4-2021 9:25 AM
Abstract
Photosynthesis is one of the most sensitive functions in plants: changes in temperature, or CO2 concentration can drastically affect the efficiency of the reaction. Rubisco activase (RCA) is an important activator for Rubisco, the enzyme responsible for the carbon fixation during photosynthesis. RCA is also very sensitive to high temperature t., It is yet unknown if certain cultivars of maize would react better to changing temperatures, for example a strain from a region closer to the equator would have higher tolerance towards high temperatures.
Our research examined whether different cultivars of maize respond differently to changes in temperature.
We measured CO2 assimilation vs. temperature in several cultivars of Maize obtained from various locations around the world using an LI-6000XT machine.
We found that cultivar B73 had a severe drop-off in carbon assimilation above37 degrees Celsius and there was a notable drop-off after increasing that temperature. A similar effect was seen with MR01. MR15 showed much smaller drop-offs as we increased temperature, MR19 was similar though slightly larger margins between the temperatures. Something interesting to note is that the MR15 strain and MR19 strain performed worse at their acclimated temperature than their non-acclimated temperature. Future research should examine whether the differences in assimilation are due to differences in RCA sequence or expression among cultivars.
Testing CO2 assimilation of Various Cultivars of Maize over Varying Temperature Levels and Light Intensities
Photosynthesis is one of the most sensitive functions in plants: changes in temperature, or CO2 concentration can drastically affect the efficiency of the reaction. Rubisco activase (RCA) is an important activator for Rubisco, the enzyme responsible for the carbon fixation during photosynthesis. RCA is also very sensitive to high temperature t., It is yet unknown if certain cultivars of maize would react better to changing temperatures, for example a strain from a region closer to the equator would have higher tolerance towards high temperatures.
Our research examined whether different cultivars of maize respond differently to changes in temperature.
We measured CO2 assimilation vs. temperature in several cultivars of Maize obtained from various locations around the world using an LI-6000XT machine.
We found that cultivar B73 had a severe drop-off in carbon assimilation above37 degrees Celsius and there was a notable drop-off after increasing that temperature. A similar effect was seen with MR01. MR15 showed much smaller drop-offs as we increased temperature, MR19 was similar though slightly larger margins between the temperatures. Something interesting to note is that the MR15 strain and MR19 strain performed worse at their acclimated temperature than their non-acclimated temperature. Future research should examine whether the differences in assimilation are due to differences in RCA sequence or expression among cultivars.