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Improvement of resource use efficiencyin biomass cropsin biomass crops

Workshop EU-US Taskforce Biotech for Bioenergyp gy

San Francisco

21. February 2008

Ul i h S hUlrich Schurr

Outline• Resource use efficency and strategies for bioenergy cropsResource use efficency and strategies for bioenergy crops • Plant resource use efficiency: interaction between

environmental dynamics and plant responses on various spatial and temporal scales

• Growth is essential for RUE• Novel opportunities for quantitative analysis

Example: MRI-PET integration for plantsPh i b d b l dPhenomics – above and belowground

• Implementation of increased RUE in bioenergy cropsIntegration of environmental dynamics and plantIntegration of environmental dynamics and plant structural and functional dynamics

European Technology Platforms for “Knowledge-Based Bioeconomy”

F d f Lif

Strategic Research Agenda development• Industry

A d i

Global AnimalHealth

Biofuels

Food for Life • Academia• Public• politics

Knowledge-BasedBio-Economy

Forestry Farm AnimalBreeding

Industrial

Bioenergy

IndustrialBio-technology Plants for

the Future

Crop RoadmapC4 grasses

mai

zemaize

arm

Miscanthus

Sorghum

popl

a Miscanthus

barle

y

futureenergy crops

BIOMASS RESOURCE USE EFFICIENCY

current cropscurrent

energy crops

energy crops

BIOMASS RESOURCE USE EFFICIENCY

Resource use efficiency - concepty p

BRUE H

AIRUE

C

H

×≈

RUE: Resource use efficiency Resources: light, water, nutrients

BH : Biomass harvested

IC : Investment in carbon

A : Availability of resources

Cost for structure and function

Dynamics of ResourceA : Availability of resources Dynamics of Resource

Resource use efficiency links plant internal processesResource use efficiency links plant internal processes with environmental availability of resources

Plants have to gain resources from heterogenous resource fieldg

vertical

Light dynamics and heterogeneity

A lhorizontal • Annual• Daily• Minutes• Seconds and faster

Gersonde, R. and O'Hara, K. 2001. Calibrating a spatially explicit light model for Sierra Nevada mixed‐conifer forests. University of California, Berkeley, Forest Science Division. http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/%7Egersonde/light_poster.html

Plants have to gain resources fromheterogenous resource field

Soil pore heterogeneity

Size distribution of pores

• Determine water availability• Define available space for rootsDefine available space for roots

Principal characteristics of the resourcedi t ib ti f t d h tdistribution for roots and shoots

Leaf Root

Resources Light, CO2 , oxygen Nutrients, water

Physicalcharacteristics

Low density, gaseous High density, solid and liquid (aqueous)

Chemicalcomposition

Gaseous, well mixed Patchy, chemical and mechanical compartments

Variability/Heterogeneity

Short-term, no significant bufferStrong temporal fluctuations

Buffered,spatially structured

How does a leaf/ shoot optimise resource acquisition from a dynamic q yfield of resources ?

Light regime is highly variable in intensityLight regime is highly variable in intensity

Maximising Minimising gcarbon gain

gdamage by high

light

photoprotection photosynthesis

How does a root (system) optimise resource acquisition from a dynamic q yfield of resources ?

Mobile nutrients (nitrate) „Bound“ nutrients3‐4 days( ) „

(phosphate)

Nitrat

mg/l

Plant optimisations to variable resource a ailabilitavailability

• Inducible systems (transporters, adaptation of metabolism)

Very well studied concept on the biochemical level

• Topology of acquisition systems (root and shoot architecture)

Little quantitative data, but can be highly efficient

How can a plant gain double carbon gain ?

Doubling the efficiency of photosynthesis ? Produce a second leaf ?

S i ith diff t

TobaccoRicinus

Species with different resourceuse efficiency differ in root

system geometries

Quantitative root architecture700

m) 0

m area

(cm

²)

400

500

600gl

as b

ox (c

m

-40

-20TobaccoRicinus

1

Tota

l roo

t

100

200

300

epth

of p

lexi

-80

-60

1 m

0

Root area (cm²)0 20 40 60 80 100 120

D -100

aboveground / belowground

from lab to applicationEnvironment from lab to application

plant behaviourdynamic interaction

Include environment in systems biology for resource use

plant productinteractionefficiency

plant Fluxomics

M t b l i N l t h l iGenes, Proteines, Metabolism, Fluxes

T i t i

Proteomics

Metabolomics Novel technologies

Genomics

Transcriptomics

Technologyplatform„Green“ NMR House

30 cm, 4.5 Tesla

„Green NMR Housefor dynamic plant

processes10 cm, 7 Tesla

Ende 2008

US 14100 cm, 1.5 Tesla

Integration of MRI and PET – unique andIntegration of MRI and PET unique and novel tools for plant research

PlanTIS 4.7 Tesla vertical NMR

Application (e.g.):- 3D-Topology of roots and shoots- Carbon transport

Dynamics of structures and functions -aboveground

water content/ growth

inner structures

Transport functions

MagneticResonanceTomography Rokitta et al 98

Dynamics of structures and functions –belowground

(a) (b)

froots growth in real soil

carbon fluxes in roots

PLANTIS: PET for plantsPLANTIS: PET for plants

Image analysis of growing systems – Soft- and HardwareSoft and Hardware

Image sequences

prefilter∫Ω

−= 'd)'()'()(~ xxgxxfxg rrrrr

Ω

regularized optical flowvia CLG

optical flow (local)== )1,,( minarg uuuuJuu yx

rrrr

Growth maps∫

∫Ω

∇∇

∇+=

'd)'(~)'(~)'()(

d)(minarg

T

2

J

xuuJuu

rrrrrr

rrrrr λ∫Ω

∇∇−= 'd)'(~)'(~)'()(

)(gT xxgxgxxwxJ

yx

rrrrrr

regularization (global) ∫Ω

∇∇−= 'd)'()'()'()( T xxgxgxxwxJ

di

regularization (global)

∫Ω

∇+−= xduuuu iiiir22 )~()~(minarg~ λ

divergenceyyxx uurgr ∂+∂=

I t ti f i di i li

0 %/h 3 %/hrelative growth rate

Integration of various disciplins

B i th h i ti l i tiBasic growth mechanisms – spatial organisation

Tip-base gradient

Arabidopsis

No spatial gradients

poplar

Basic growth processesBasic growth processes are not understood

Identification of key genes

Nicotiana tabacum

… integration of spatial-temporal dynamics ….

6,47,2

88,8

[%/h

]te

(% /

h)0,81,62,43,2

44,85,6

Rel

ativ

e W

uchs

rate

W

uchs

rat

18 20 22 24 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

-0,80

R

Zeit [h]

20

103

04050

Rel

.

Time (h)-0,8-0 0-0,8 0,8-1,6 1,6-2,4 2,4-3,2 3,2-44-4,8 4,8-5,6 5,6-6,4 6,4-7,2 7,2-8 8-8,8

0( )

Genomicstransgenics

Test your hypothesis

transgenics

Intensity of environmental fluctuations correlates with dynamics of plant control processy

Leaf Root

Resources Light CO oxygen Nutrients waterResources Light, CO2 , oxygen Nutrients, water

Physicalcharacteristics

Low density, gaseous High density, solid and liquid (aqueous)q ( q )

Chemicalcomposition

Gaseous, well mixed Patchy, chemical and mechanical compartments

Variability/Heterogeneity

Short-term, no significant bufferStrong temporal fluctuations

Buffered,spatially structured

Plant control processes buffer environmental fluctuations

Plant control processes favour quick response to environmental changese o e ta c a ges

Significant impact on breeding strategies for resource use efficiency

Phenomics and screening for improvedresource use efficiencyresource use efficiency

Thermography

Water and Growth

Chl h ll fl

PhotosynthesisMagnetic resonance imaging

Nutrients and Carbon

Thermography

transpiration water content

Chlorophyll - fluorescence

photosynthesis

Magnetic resonance imaging

root, growth,fluxes in l t d il

Digital Growth Analysis

root,photosynthesis/ i i

Hyperspectral imagingplants and soil

PlanTIS (PET)leaves,canopies

compositioncarbon transport-Leaf/ shoot

High Throughput

-root -soil

Throughput Screening

(lab and field)

dand

Modelling

• Resource use efficency important for bioenergy crops • Plant resource use efficiency: environmental dynamics and

l t i ti l d t l lplant responses on various spatial and temporal scales• Growth is essential for RUE• Novel technologies for quantitative analysis• Novel technologies for quantitative analysis

MRI-PET integration for plantsPhenomics – above and belowgroundPhenomics above and belowground

• Implementation of increased RUE in bioenergy cropsIntegration of environmental dynamics and plant structural g y pand functional dynamics

Opportunities for interaction US and EUOpportunities for interaction US and EU• Novel concepts for resource use efficiency in bioenergy crops• Technological developments and utilisation of novel technologiesTechnological developments and utilisation of novel technologies