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: 2018
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2018-01-01 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=666289
• 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.

植物竞争传统上被视为一种植物对另一种植物产生的负面影响，因为一种植物在消耗或控制资源（如轻水和养分）方面更成功。毫无疑问，资源限制是植物竞争的主要因素，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。大多数竞争研究都局限于描述竞争的结果，如生物量的变化或产量损失，很少或根本不了解植物内部发生的实际分子和生理变化。我之前的研究结果表明，作物/杂草竞争最初不是由资源限制驱动的，而是由分子、生理和形态变化驱动的，这些变化最初发生在作物植物中，是对地上邻近杂草的营养组织所反映的红远红比变化的响应。越来越多的证据表明，这些分子和生理变化可能直接改变作物的产量潜力和/或使作物更容易受到由生物或非生物变量（如资源限制）引起的后续压力的影响。为了提高我们对植物竞争的这些基本机制的认识，我提出了一个实验计划来测试几个假设，这些假设旨在确定红远红比的变化如何改变玉米或大豆植物的分子表达和随后的生理学。将设计实验来研究从地上邻近杂草和非生物远红过滤器反射的红远红比对发生在玉米和大豆植物细胞和细胞器中的分子和生理变化的影响。该研究将为我们了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计划提供新的信息，以提高植物的抗逆性。