Effects of isoprene production on the photosynthetic performance of Poplars (Populus sp.) under thermal and moisture stress

Abstract:

Poplars are an important agro-forestry product used for both biofuel and paper production. Importantly, all poplars are not created equal – some have the potential to produce isoprene, a compound thought to aid plants under temperatures and water stress conditions. Isoprene production, then, would be an important feature in a plant’s response to projected climatic changes of warmer temperatures and longer inter-storm periods of drought. Our project observed how drought conditions modulated photosynthetic rates in two lineages of Populus trees, those that produce isoprene and those that have had isoprene gene knocked out.

We measured leaf-level photosynthesis and thermal sensitivity from the two lineages under high and low soil water conditions in a common garden experiment. We found that both lines had similar photosynthetic rates over the range of temperatures and water exposure levels measured. However, we wondered if some of the variation we found in our data was due to the time of day of the measurements. Subsequent measurements of photosynthetic rates in the morning and afternoon on the same leaves illustrated that poplars reached higher rates of photosynthesis in the morning, but ultimately decreased faster than observed in the afternoon measurements (indicative of an eased thermal sensitivity in the afternoon). Also, we used measures of soil moisture and leaf water potential to determine that the “drought” treatment we had induced didn’t actually yield any differences in the moisture status among the trees. Ultimately, our experiment showed that isoprene did not aid in photosynthesis under heat stressed conditions and that the common garden setting was not able to currently induce a water stress condition in the plants. We have begun exploring the use of low-altitude remote sensing by an unmanned aerial vehicles outfitted with thermal and multi-spectral cameras to quantify patterns of transpirational water loss, NDVI, leaf browning due to moisture stress, and overall leaf status to determine if isoprene production is creating a yet unobserved benefit for the trees.