Original video: https://youtu.be/8NVZWhdNT6M
Shared on: 22 July 2022
Rice, a staple food for billions worldwide, is a complex plant with a delicate balance between growth and yield. The leaf, a vital organ, plays a crucial role in photosynthesis, the process that converts sunlight into energy. By understanding the intricacies of leaf physiology, scientists and farmers can develop innovative strategies to boost rice yields and ensure food security for a growing global population. Continued exploration of leaf function and the application of cutting-edge technologies hold the key to a sustainable future in agriculture.
Elevated CO2 Priming as a Sustainable Approach to Increasing Rice Tiller Number and Yield Potential
Tillering and yield are linked in rice, with significant efforts being invested to understand the genetic basis of this phenomenon. However, in addition to genetic factors, tillering is also influenced by the environment. Exploiting experiments in which seedlings were first grown in elevated CO2 (eCO2) before transfer and further growth under ambient CO2 (aCO2) levels, we found that even moderate exposure times to eCO2 were sufficient to induce tillering in seedlings, which was maintained in plants grown to maturity plants in controlled environment chambers. We then explored whether brief exposure to eCO2 (eCO2 priming) could be implemented to regulate tiller number and yield in the field. We designed a cost-effective growth system, using yeast to increase the CO2 level for the first 24 days of growth, and grew these seedlings to maturity in semi-field conditions in Malaysia. The increased growth caused by eCO2 priming translated into larger mature plants with increased tillering, panicle number, and improved grain filling and 1000 grain weight. In order to make the process more appealing to conventional rice farmers, we then developed a system in which fungal mycelium was used to generate the eCO2 via respiration of sugars derived by growing the fungus on lignocellulosic waste. Not only does this provide a sustainable source of CO2, it also has the added financial benefit to farmers of generating economically valuable oyster mushrooms as an end-product of mycelium growth. Our experiments show that the system is capable of generating sufficient CO2 to induce increased tillering in rice seedlings, leading eventually to 18% more tillers and panicles in mature paddy-grown crop. We discuss the potential of eCO2 priming as a rapidly implementable, broadly applicable and sustainable system to increase tillering, and thus yield potential in rice.
Full paper in RIce: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12284-023-00629-0
Combined Chlorophyll Fluorescence and Transcriptomic Analysis Identifies the P3/P4 Transition as a Key Stage in Rice Leaf Photosynthetic Development
Leaves are derived from heterotrophic meristem tissue that, at some point, must make the transition to autotrophy via the initiation of photosynthesis. However, the timing and spatial coordination of the molecular and cellular processes underpinning this switch are poorly characterized. Here, we report on the identification of a specific stage in rice (Oryza sativa) leaf development (P3/P4 transition) when photosynthetic competence is first established. Using a combined physiological and molecular approach, we show that elements of stomatal and vascular differentiation are coordinated with the onset of measurable light absorption for photosynthesis. Moreover, by exploring the response of the system to environmental perturbation, we show that the earliest stages of rice leaf development have significant plasticity with respect to elements of cellular differentiation of relevance for mature leaf photosynthetic performance. Finally, by performing an RNA sequencing analysis targeted at the early stages of rice leaf development, we uncover a palette of genes whose expression likely underpins the acquisition of photosynthetic capability. Our results identify the P3/P4 transition as a highly dynamic stage in rice leaf development when several processes for the initiation of photosynthetic competence are coordinated. As well as identifying gene targets for future manipulation of rice leaf structure/function, our data highlight a developmental window during which such manipulations are likely to be most effective.
Full paper in Plant Physiology: https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.15.01624
Speaker 1: Professor Andrew Fleming
School of Biosciences
Professor of Plant Science
The University of Sheffield, UK
Speaker 2: Dr Jen Sloan
School of Biosciences
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
The University of Sheffield, UK
Location:
Auditorium Rashdan Baba, 43400 Seri Kembangan, Selangor Malaysia
XPQG+WH Seri Kembangan, Selangor
2.9896589571228063, 101.72636354150752
Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0 - Creative Commons
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