Fast photosynthesis measurements for phenotyping photosynthetic capacity of rice

Tingting Du,Ping Meng,Jianliang Huang,Shaobing Peng,Dongliang Xiong

doi:10.1186/s13007-020-0553-2

Abstract

BackgroundOver the past decades, the structural and functional genomics of rice have been deeply studied, and high density of molecular genetic markers have been developed. However, the genetic variation in leaf photosynthesis, the most important trait for rice yield improvement, was rarely studied. The lack of photosynthesis phenotyping tools is one of the bottlenecks, as traditional direct photosynthesis measurements are very low-throughput, and recently developed high-throughput methods are indirect measurements. Hence, there is an urgent need for a fast, accurate and direct measurement approach.ResultWe reported a fast photosynthesis measurement (FPM) method for phenotyping photosynthetic capacity of rice, which measures photosynthesis of excised tillers in environment-controlled lab conditions. The light response curves measured using FPM approach coped well with that the curves measured using traditional gas exchange approach. Importantly, the FPM technique achieved an average throughput of 5.4 light response curves per hour, which was 3 times faster than the 1.8 light response curves per hour using the traditional method. Tillers sampled at early morning had the highest photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and the lowest variability. In addition, even 12 h after sampling, there was no significant difference of photosynthesis rate between excised tillers and in situ. We finally investigated the genetic variations of photosynthetic traits across 568 F2 lines using the FPM technique and discussed the logistics of screening several hundred samples per day per instrumental unit using FPM to generate a wealth of photosynthetic phenotypic data, which might help to improve the selection power in large populations of rice with the ultimate aim of improving yield through improved photosynthesis.ConclusionsHere we developed a high-throughput method that can measure the rice leaf photosynthetic capacity approximately 10 times faster than traditional gas exchange approaches. Importantly, this method can overcome measurement errors caused by environmental heterogeneity under field conditions, and it is possible to measure 12 or more hours per day under lab conditions.

Highlights

Over the past decades, the structural and functional genomics of rice have been deeply studied, and high density of molecular genetic markers have been developed
No differences were observed in fitted parameters of light response curves, the light-saturated photosynthetic rates (Asat) of excised tillers were slightly elevated in both genotypes
Our results showed that the although the light-saturated photosynthetic rates (Asat) and light compensation point (LCP) of Oryza sativa cultivar Huanghuazhan (HHZ) was higher than LYPJ, but no difference in light intensity was detected under 75% saturated photosynthesis

Summary

Introduction

The structural and functional genomics of rice have been deeply studied, and high density of molecular genetic markers have been developed. For most of the commercial gas exchange systems, the quantity and quality of the light, flow rate of air, air humidity, temperature, and concentration of atmospheric gases can be controlled to determine the photosynthetic response of the area of leaf contained within the cuvette. Using these systems, light- and C O2 response curves can be estimated to provide photosynthetic mechanistic information [23]. Precise controlling of the environment inside cuvettes, especially, temperature and humidity, requires a relatively stable ambient environment; in most case, gas exchange measurement can only be performed within a short period under field conditions. Rice, a staple food of more than half the world’s population, grows in flooded conditions (Fig. 1)

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Conclusion