Non-limiting Resource Mechanisms of Plant Competition

植物竞争的非限制性资源机制

• 批准号: RGPIN-2015-05663
• 负责人: Swanton, Clarence
• 金额: $ 2.4万
• 依托单位: University of Guelph
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=613679
• 关键词: Non; limiting; Resource; Mechanisms; Plant

Plant competition has been viewed traditionally as the negative effects which one plant has on another by being more successful at consuming or controlling access to resources such as light water and nutrients. While there is no doubt that resource limitation is a major factor in plant competition, other non-limiting resource mechanisms such as hormonal and light signalling have been shown to play important roles in plant competition. Most competition studies have been limited to descriptive outcomes of competition such as changes in biomass or yield loss, with little or no understanding of the actual molecular and physiological changes that have occurred within the plant. The results of my previous research suggest that crop/ weed competition is not driven initially by limiting resources, but rather by molecular, physiological and morphological changes that occur initially in crop plants in response to changes in the Red to Far Red ratio reflected from the vegetative tissue of above ground neighbouring weeds. There is an emerging body of evidence to suggest that these molecular and physiological changes may directly alter yield potential and/or pre-condition the crop plant to be more susceptible to subsequent stresses caused by biotic or abiotic variables such as limiting resources. In order to advance our knowledge of these fundamental mechanisms of plant competition I propose an experimental plan to test several hypotheses designed to determine how changes in the Red to Far Red ratio can alter the molecular expression and subsequent physiology of a corn or soybean plant. Experiments will be designed to study the effect of the Red to Far Red ratio reflected from both above ground neighbouring weeds and a non-biological Far Red filter on the molecular and physiological changes that occur in the cells and organelles of maize and soybean plants. This research will contribute new knowledge to our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of plant competition as well as provide novel information which may be used in maize and soybean breeding programs to enhance stress tolerance.

传统上，植物竞争被认为是一种植物通过更成功地消耗或控制资源（如轻水和养分）对另一种植物的负面影响。虽然毫无疑问，资源限制是植物竞争的一个主要因素，其他非限制性资源机制，如激素和光信号已被证明在植物竞争中发挥重要作用。大多数竞争研究仅限于描述竞争的结果，如生物量或产量损失的变化，很少或根本不了解植物内发生的实际分子和生理变化。我以前的研究结果表明，作物/杂草竞争最初不是由有限的资源驱动的，而是由最初发生在作物植物中的分子，生理和形态变化来响应从地上相邻杂草的营养组织中反映的红到远红比率的变化。有一个新兴的证据表明，这些分子和生理变化可能直接改变产量潜力和/或预处理作物植物更容易受到生物或非生物变量，如有限的资源所造成的后续应力。为了推进我们的知识，这些植物竞争的基本机制，我提出了一个实验计划，以测试几个假设，旨在确定如何在红远红比例的变化可以改变玉米或大豆植物的分子表达和随后的生理。实验将被设计为研究从地上相邻杂草和非生物远红过滤器反映的红到远红比率对玉米和大豆植物细胞和细胞器中发生的分子和生理变化的影响。这项研究将为我们理解植物竞争的潜在机制提供新的知识，并为玉米和大豆育种提供新的信息，以提高抗逆性。