EAPSI: Quantifying Pore Characteristics and Leaf Water Transport Conduits in Three Australian Evergreen Tree Species

在植物中，水通过复杂的管道网络从土壤中输送到根、树干、树枝和树叶。随着土壤干燥，植物中的水柱可能会破裂，导致水运输能力降低，如果干旱条件持续下去，最终死亡。我们知道，连接树木中相邻水分运输管道的孔隙的物理特性与根、树干和树枝的耐旱性有关，但很少有研究关注叶子中的这些孔隙，尽管它们是植物光合作用的门户，因此是整体生长和生存的门户。在这个项目中，研究员将与布伦丹乔特博士？澳大利亚西悉尼大学霍克斯伯里环境研究所的植物水分运输专家？使用基于激光和基于电子的高分辨率成像系统来测量三种经济上重要的万年青树种的叶子中的这些互连孔。 分析气孔的解剖结构将增加基础知识，并有助于提高干旱引起的森林枯梢病预测的准确性。虽然叶片是整个植物生长和生产力的门户，但其水力功能的研究比其他植物器官少得多。研究表明，在根、茎和枝中，边缘纹孔/花托边缘形态与抗旱性之间存在相关性，但这些结构在叶木质部中仍然很大程度上无法量化。 在这个项目中，研究员将与布伦丹乔特博士？澳大利亚西悉尼大学霍克斯伯里环境研究所的植物水力学专家？利用共聚焦激光扫描显微镜和电子扫描显微镜对三种重要针叶树种的叶管胞和输流管胞中的纹孔和环面边缘形态进行成像和定量分析。 解剖学特征是叶和土壤-植物-大气模型的必要组成部分;了解边缘纹孔形态可能有助于增强对变化的气候条件下植物功能和物种分布变化的预测。东亚和太平洋夏季研究所计划下的该奖项支持美国研究生的夏季研究，由NSF和澳大利亚科学院共同资助。

In plants, water is transported from the soil through a complex network of conduits from roots to trunks, branches and leaves. As soils dry, water columns in the plant can break, resulting in a reduced water transport capacity and eventual death if the dry conditions persist, as with drought. We know that the physical characteristics of the pores, which link adjacent water transport conduits in trees, relate to drought tolerance in roots, trunks and branches, but little research has focused on these pores in leaves, despite their being the gateway to plant photosynthesis and therefore overall growth and survival. In this project, the Fellow will work with Dr. Brendan Choat ? an expert in plant water transport at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment at Western Sydney University, Australia ? to measure these interconnecting pores in leaves of three economically vital evergreen tree species using laser-based and electron-based high resolution imaging systems. Analyzing the anatomical structure of the pores will increase foundational knowledge and help to enhance accuracy of drought-induced forest dieback predictions.Although leaves are the gateways of overall plant growth and productivity, their hydraulic function has been studied much less than other plant organs. Research has shown that there is a correlation between bordered pit/torus-margo morphology and drought resistance in roots, stems and branches, but these structures remain largely unquantified in leaf xylem. In this project, the Fellow will work with Dr. Brendan Choat ? an expert in plant hydraulics at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment at Western Sydney University, Australia ? to image and quantify numerous aspects of pit and torus-margo morphology in leaf tracheids and transfusion tracheids in three economically vital conifer species using confocal laser scanning microscopy and electron scanning microscopy. Anatomical characteristics are necessary components of leaf and soil-plant-atmosphere models; understanding bordered pit morphology may contribute to enhanced predictions of altered plant function and species distributions under changing climate regimes.This award under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Australia Academy of Science.