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. 2017 Apr 1;68(9):2377-2385.
doi: 10.1093/jxb/erx107.

Genotypic variation in transpiration efficiency due to differences in photosynthetic capacity among sugarcane-related clones

Chunjia Li  1 , Phillip Jackson  2 , Xin Lu  1 , Chaohua Xu  1 , Qing Cai  3 , Jayapathi Basnayake  4 , Prakash Lakshmanan  5 , Oula Ghannoum  6 , Yuanhong Fan  1
Affiliations

Genotypic variation in transpiration efficiency due to differences in photosynthetic capacity among sugarcane-related clones

Chunjia Li et al. J Exp Bot. .

Abstract

Sugarcane, derived from the hybridization of Saccharum officinarum×Saccharum spontaneum, is a vegetative crop in which the final yield is highly driven by culm biomass production. Cane yield under irrigated or rain-fed conditions could be improved by developing genotypes with leaves that have high intrinsic transpiration efficiency, TEi (CO2 assimilation/stomatal conductance), provided this is not offset by negative impacts from reduced conductance and growth rates. This study was conducted to partition genotypic variation in TEi among a sample of diverse clones from the Chinese collection of sugarcane-related germplasm into that due to variation in stomatal conductance versus that due to variation in photosynthetic capacity. A secondary goal was to define protocols for optimized larger-scale screening of germplasm collections. Genotypic variation in TEi was attributed to significant variation in both stomatal and photosynthetic components. A number of genotypes were found to possess high TEi as a result of high photosynthetic capacity. This trait combination is expected to be of significant breeding value. It was determined that a small number of observations (16) is sufficient for efficiently screening TEi in larger populations of sugarcane genotypes The research methodology and results reported are encouraging in supporting a larger-scale screening and introgression of high transpiration efficiency in sugarcane breeding. However, further research is required to quantify narrow sense heritability as well as the leaf-to-field translational potential of genotypic variation in transpiration efficiency-related traits observed in this study.

Keywords: Breeding; genotypic variation; photosynthesis; sugarcane; transpiration efficiency..

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Weather conditions during the experimental period. (A) Daily average temperature and (B) humidity, and (C) maximum (on an hourly basis) solar radiation during the experimental period. Plants were transplanted on 21 December 2013 and measured between 28 March 2014 and 12 September 2014. Days of measurement are indicated with tick marks on the top border of panel C.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Predicted effect of number of observations on Hb and least significant difference.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Relationship between leaf gas exchange parameters. (A) The relationship between A and gs and (B) the relationship between TEi and Ci, for all data collected. The solid line is a best fit exponential equation for all data points.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Relationship between components of TEi. (A) Changes in TEpc and TEgs for each genotype expressed relative to the average of all genotypes. (B) Relationship between genotype performance for TEpc and TEgs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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