Aarhus, Denmark
July 7, 2010
Climate will not only make the world a warmer place. There will also be greater temperature fluctuations. It is therefore important that the crops of the future can tolerate a bit of this and that. A new measuring method can help find plants that are suited for the climate challenges of the future.
It is important to think in the long term when developing crops for the future. The new varieties must be able to tolerate heat and drought as well as having a high quality. All three elements are included in the new research project, ”Wheat adapted to climate changes”, that scientists from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Aarhus University, and University of Copenhagen are working on and which aims to find wheat varieties that are future-safe.
In order to find suitable plants the scientists are using phenotyping, which means evaluating the appearance and function of a plant as a correlation of its genetic background and the environmental conditions under which it grew up.
One of the factors the scientists are investigating is heat stress in wheat. The scientists are doing this with the aid of plant light radiation – the so-called chlorophyll fluorescence. Light energy that hits the plant’s chlorophyll in its leaves can meet with three different fates. Either the light energy drives the plant’s photosynthesis, is emitted as heat – or radiates as a red light.
- When plants are subjected to 33-38 degrees centigrade for a certain period it stresses their photosynthesis, so solar energy cannot be used. However, some of the energy is emitted from the chlorophyll as a red fluorescent light, which we can measure, explains senior scientist Carl-Otto Ottosen from the Department of Horticulture at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences.
Promising results after the first round
The first phase of the project has just been completed. More than 1.300 different lines of wheat from all over the world have been thoroughly tested this spring.
- The results are promising. There are genetic differences between the lines so there is breeding material to work with in the coming winter months, says Carl-Otto Ottosen.
Before that, during the summer, the scientists will test selected wheat lines outdoors. Senior scientist Bernd Wollenweber from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences will subject the plants to slightly higher temperatures so that the quality of the grain is affected.
- The research project will introduce phenotyping to Danish research whereby physiological methods are used to select the right wheat lines for further breeding. Data will also be used in designing models that can help agricultural production adapt to the future, says Carl-Otto Ottosen. That work will be carried out by research professor Jørgen E. Olesen from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences.
Phenotyping can also be used for many other kinds of plants.
- The method makes it possible to test the total expression of one or more stress factors in plants which in turn makes it easier to pinpoint the right genotype and, in the long run, the combination of genes that controls stress adaptation, says Carl-Otto Ottosen.
Even though the scientists are incorporating new techniques for selecting suitable plants, they are using existing genes and traditional breeding. This means that the results can be used by both organic and conventional farmers.
The three-year project is being led by the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and is supported by a grant of 10 mill. kr. from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries. The project has PhD students attached to it and, as something new for the faculty, two of its own master’s students.
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