Abstract
BackgroundPhotosynthesis is one of the most important biological reactions and forms the basis of crop productivity and yield on which a growing global population relies. However, to develop improved plant cultivars that are capable of increased productivity, methods that can accurately and quickly quantify photosynthetic efficiency in large numbers of genotypes under field conditions are needed. Chlorophyll fluorescence imaging is a rapid, non-destructive measurement that can provide insight into the efficiency of the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis.ResultsTo test and validate a field-deployed fluorescence imaging system on the TERRA-REF field scanalyzer, leaves of potted sorghum plants were treated with a photosystem II inhibitor, DCMU, to reduce photochemical efficiency (FV/FM). The ability of the fluorescence imaging system to detect changes in fluorescence was determined by comparing the image-derived values with a handheld fluorometer. This study demonstrated that the imaging system was able to accurately measure photochemical efficiency (FV/FM) and was highly correlated (r = 0.92) with the handheld fluorometer values. Additionally, the fluorescence imaging system was able to track the decrease in photochemical efficiency due to treatment of DCMU over a 7 day period.ConclusionsThe system’s ability to capture the temporal dynamics of the plants’ response to this induced stress, which has comparable dynamics to abiotic and biotic stressors found in field environments, indicates the system is operating correctly. With the validation of the fluorescence imaging system, physiological and genetic studies can be undertaken that leverage the fluorescence imaging capabilities and throughput of the field scanalyzer.
Highlights
Photosynthesis is one of the most important biological reactions and forms the basis of crop productivity and yield on which a growing global population relies
The goal of the present study was to validate a Photosystem II (PS2) fluorescence imaging system deployed on a large, outdoor, gantry-based phenotyping system with a commercial handheld fluorometer. To achieve this overall goal, the objectives of the present study were to: (1) compare the fluorescence phenotypes obtained from a handheld fluorometer with the gantrybased imaging system; (2) determine if the imaging system can capture the dynamic response of leaves treated with DCMU, a known inhibitor of photosystem II, over time; and (3) discuss the effectiveness of this system for phenotyping large genetic populations compared to the handheld fluorometer
The fluorescence values obtained from gantry imaging were highly correlated with those from the handheld fluorometer except for minimum fluorescence (Minimum fluorescence (F0)) (Fig. 1)
Summary
Photosynthesis is one of the most important biological reactions and forms the basis of crop productivity and yield on which a growing global population relies. Photosynthesis is an important physiological process that enables plants to convert solar radiation into chemical energy in the form of biomass [3,4,5,6]. The energy transfer drives photochemical reactions (photosynthesis) that enable biomass accumulation While this process is very important for plant growth, it is highly inefficient. After light energy is trapped in the reaction centers, but before respiratory processes, the minimal energy loss of C3 plants due to electron transport and carbohydrate assimilation has been calculated to be 24.6% of the total incoming solar radiation [3]. Heat dissipation, or fluorescence are the only three possible outcomes for chlorophyll absorbed light energy, measuring one can provide information about the other two
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