Comparative analysis of GxE to dissect integrated responses of plants to high temperature

VILE, D; VASSEUR, F; PANTIN, F; VIOLLE, C; ROUCOU, A; BRESSON, J; DAUZAT, M; BÉDIÉE, A; ROLLAND, G; AYALA-GARAY, O; VAZQUEZ- ROVERE, C; MULLER, B; GRANIER, C

Foz de Iguazu

Simposio; SEB, Stress Resilence Forum, Plant Section Symposium; 2015

Society for Experimental Biology

Phenotypic plasticity to high temperature (HT) is inevitably multidimensional and multifactorial. Multidimensionality is inherent to the concept of phenotype where any trait contributes to shaping the phenotypic space. Plasticity to HT is multifactorial because in natural and even in supposedly controlled environments HT is associated with other site-(or experiment-)specific environmental factors that often include stresses such as water deficit. We used combinations of environmental (E) factors (water, light, CO2) to dissect the genetic bases of Arabidopsis responses to HT. Our results show that plant growth under HT strongly depends on carbon metabolism and that allometric constraints play a significant role in plant tolerance to HT. Specifically, a size-dependent response of water use efficiency (WUE) to HT but not to soil water deficit, indicated that most of the plasticity of carbon acquisition through photosynthesis and of WUE to HT was controlled by pleiotropic loci that control variation of development, growth, and transpiration. Based on this framework, we currently develop a multi-traits-multi-environments comparative approach that will allow identifying the adaptive strategies of different crop species and the possible constraints that may operate on plant breeding for ideotypes targeted to specific environments. This approach that has its roots into evolutionary ecology will continue to challenge the development of high throughput phenotyping platforms.