PHOTOWHEAT: Exploiting variation in stomatal dynamics and ear photosynthesis to optimise wheat productivity.

世界粮食需求正在增长，据估计，需要增产50%才能满足世界人口增长带来的日益增长的需求。气候变化和对植物作为生物燃料的竞争需求进一步加剧了这种情况。光合作用是植物利用来自太阳的能量将大气中的二氧化碳(CO2)转化为碳水化合物和其他化合物的过程，这些化合物用于生长。光合作用发生在植物的所有绿色部分，尽管大多数研究集中在叶片光合作用上，但最近的研究表明，穗部光合作用对籽粒产量是重要的，特别是当叶片可能受到伤害或胁迫时。此外，为了使叶片发生光合作用，二氧化碳必须通过可调节的气孔进入叶片，同时水分通过这些气孔流失，使叶片降温。保持光合作用的最佳叶温是很重要的，因为高温会大大降低光合作用和作物产量。气孔不断适应不断变化的环境条件，以平衡二氧化碳的吸收和水分的损失。气孔对动态环境中这种变化的反应速度越快，它们就越能更好地协调二氧化碳和叶温，从而实现最佳的光合作用和粮食产量。这项研究计划的目的是确定小麦品系和气孔动力学增强背后的基因，以获得最佳叶温和增强果穗光合作用，供育种家用来提高小麦产量。使用神奇的小麦育种群体将使我们能够识别特定的DNA区域，并为未来的育种计划提供选定的小麦亲本系。在过去，新的作物品种是通过将现有的品系与感兴趣的性状杂交而产生的。这种非定向的方法并不总是导致选择出表现出更高作物产量的品系。如今，品种的遗传指纹图谱可以让我们准确地识别优秀的后代。魔力小麦育种群体遵循这一原理，依靠几个创始品系(或亲本)杂交，产生一个具有遗传图谱的多样化群体。我们将使用一个神奇的小麦种群来寻找导致高穗光合作用和快速气孔运动的基因区域，这些基因区域是未来旨在提高粮食生产率的育种计划的有益特征。

World demand for food is growing and it has been estimated that a 50% increase in yield will be needed to meet the increasing demand due to the growing world population. This situation is further exacerbated by the changing climate and the competing demand for plants as biofuels. Photosynthesis is the process by which plants use the energy from the sun to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere into carbohydrates and other chemical compounds, which are used for growth. Photosynthesis takes place in all green parts of the plants and although most research focuses on leaf photosynthesis, recent studies have shown that ear photosynthesis is important for graining yield, particularly when leaves maybe damaged or stressed. Furthermore, in order for leaf photosynthesis to take place CO2 must enter the leaf through adjustable stomatal pores and at the same time water is lost through these pores cooling the leaf down. It is important to maintain an optimal leaf temperature for photosynthesis, as high temperatures greatly reduce photosynthesis and crop yield. Stomata are continually adjusting to changing environmental conditions to balance CO2 uptake with water loss. The greater the speed at which stomata react to such changes in the dynamic environment the better they can coordinate CO2 and leaf temperature which leads to optimal photosynthesis and grain yield. The aim of this research proposal is to identify wheat lines and the genes behind enhanced stomatal dynamics for optimal leaf temperature and enhanced ear photosynthesis for breeders to use to increase wheat yields. Using a MAGIC wheat breeding population will allow us to identify specific DNA regions and deliver selected wheat parental lines for future breeding programmes. In the past new crop varieties have been produced by crossing together existing strains with traits of interest. This undirected approach did not always lead to the selections of strains displaying higher crop yields. Nowadays, genetic fingerprinting of varieties allows us to precisely identify good progeny. MAGIC wheat breeding populations work on this principle and rely on crossing several founder lines (or parents) to produce a diverse population with a genetic map. We will use a MAGIC population of wheat to find gene regions which lead to high ear photosynthesis and rapid stomatal movements which are beneficial traits for future breeding programmes aimed at increasing food productivity.