Abstract Detail

Ecological Section

Super, Laura [1], Moses, Elgan [1], Naderi-Azad, Sheida [1], Sun, Sherry [1], Khan, Almas [1], Mehroke, Jarnail [1], Singh, Santokh [1].

Exploring the impact of anthropogenic drivers on Arabidopsis thaliana .

Understanding the impact of temperature on plants is of great importance, especially given the predicted impacts of anthropogenic climate change on plant ecology, physiology, and development. Also, understanding the impact of temperature in conjunction with nitrogen has relevance to agriculture in our rapidly changing world. Arabidopsis thaliana is a model plant species often associated with molecular genetics research, but scientists are increasingly testing hypotheses related to ecology, such as ideas related to niche partitioning, as well the impact of temperature and other abiotic stressors on A. thaliana ecophysiology. Much remains unknown about how temperature, and temperature in conjunction with nitrogen, impacts A. thaliana root growth and root architecture, and other aspects of physiological ecology. Our research suggests that low (15 °C) and high (29 °C) temperatures impact A. thaliana root growth, root architecture, and ecophysiology relative to the control temperature (22 °C). At 15 °C, there was lower growth of roots and shoots relative to the control and at 29 °C. Root and shoot growth increased at 29 °C relative to the control and 15 °C. Shoot senescence and root architecture differed among treatments; roots were more spindly at 29 °C compared to other treatments and shoot senescence was highest. In preliminary studies, we crossed temperature levels and nitrogen levels (1/2, 1/4, 1/10, 0 of NH₄NO₃ in 1/2 Johnson solution). The results suggested that only 0 and 1/10 nitrogen levels were impacting plant growth in conjunction with temperature; there was increased senescence and lower growth, with the most pronounced impacts occurring at 15 °C and 29 °C. Consequently, we further tested lower nitrogen levels (1/10, 1/100, 0 of NH₄NO₃ in 1/2 Johnson solution). Visual inspection indicated that there seemed to be more drastic stress with decreasing nitrogen levels at all temperatures. In addition to these findings, further results on nitrogen and temperature impacts will be presented at the conference.

1 - University Of British Columbia, Botany, #3529-6270 University Blvd., Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

Keywords:
Arabidopsis thaliana
ecophysiology
temperature
nitrogen
anthropogenic drivers
climate change
environmental stress
plant architecture
ecology
roots and shoots.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 21
Location: Salon 17/18/The Shaw Conference Centre
Date: Monday, July 27th, 2015
Time: 4:15 PM
Number: 21011
Abstract ID:760
Candidate for Awards:None