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Search indexed bioRxiv preprints in genomics, neuroscience, cell biology and bioinformatics. Read source abstracts and check manuscript versions; preprints are not peer reviewed.

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bioRxiv2018

The rice G protein γ subunit qPE9-1 positively regulates grain-filling process by interacting with abscisic acid and auxin

The rice genome contains a single G (RGA1) and G{beta} (RGB1) and five G{gamma} subunits. Recent genetic studies have shown that DEP1/qPE9-1, an atypical putative G{gamma} protein, is responsible for dense and erect panicles, but the biochemical and molecular mechanisms underlying control of grain size are not well understood. Here, we report that plants carrying qPE9-1 have more endosperm cells per grain than plants contain the qpe9-1 allele. The qPE9-1 line has a higher rate and longer period of starch accumulation than the qpe9-1 line. Additionally, the expression of several key genes encoding enzymes catalyzing sucrose metabolism and starch biosynthesis is higher in the qPE9-1 line than in the qpe9-1 line, especially from the mid to late grain-filling stage. Grains of the qPE9-1 line also have higher contents of two phytohormones, ABA and IAA. Exogenous application of ABA or IAA enhanced starch accumulation and the expression of genes encoding grain-filling-related enzymes in the grains of qPE9-1, whereas only IAA produced these effects in qpe9-1. Based on these results, we conclude that qPE9-1 promotes endosperm cell proliferation and positively regulates starch accumulation largely through ABA and IAA, which enhance the expression of genes encoding starch biosynthesis during the late grain-filling stage.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Rhizosphere-enriched microbes as a pool to design synthetic communities for reproducible beneficial outputs

Composts represent a sustainable way to suppress diseases and improve plant growth. Identification of compost-derived microbial communities enriched in the rhizosphere of plants and characterization of their traits, could facilitate the design of microbial synthetic communities (SynComs) that upon soil inoculation could yield consistent beneficial effects towards plants. Here, we characterized a collection of compost-derived bacteria, previously isolated from tomato rhizosphere, for in vitro antifungal activity against soil-borne fungal pathogens and for their potential to change growth parameters in Arabidopsis. We further assessed root-competitive traits in the dominant rhizospheric genus Bacillus. Certain isolated rhizobacteria displayed antifungal activity against the tested pathogens and affected growth of Arabidopsis, and Bacilli members possessed several enzymatic activities. Subsequently, we designed two SynComs with different composition and tested their effect on Arabidopsis and tomato growth and health. SynCom1, consisting of different bacterial genera, displayed negative effect on Arabidopsis in vitro, but promoted tomato growth in pots. SynCom2, consisting of Bacilli, didnt affect Arabidopsis growth, enhanced tomato growth and suppressed Fusarium wilt symptoms. Overall, we found selection of compost-derived microbes with beneficial properties in the rhizosphere of tomato plants, and observed that application of SynComs on poor substrates can yield reproducible plant phenotypes.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Control of stem-cell niche establishment in Arabidopsis flowers by REVOLUTA and the LEAFY-RAX1 module

Plants retain the ability to produce organs throughout their life by maintaining active stem cell niches called meristems. The shoot apical meristem (SAM) is responsible for the growth of aerial plant structures. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the SAM initially produces leaves during the vegetative phase and later flowers during reproductive development. In the early stages of floral initiation, a group of cells first emerges from the SAM to form a stereotypically organized meristematic structure on its flank. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the acquisition of this specific meristematic organization remain elusive. We show here that the transcription factors LEAFY (LFY) and REVOLUTA (REV) control two partially redundant pathways controlling meristematic organization in early flower primordia. We found that LFY acts through the transcription factor REGULATOR OF AXILLARY MERISTEM1 (RAX1) and we provide mechanistic insights in how RAX1 allows meristem identity establishment in young flowers. Our work provides a molecular link between the processes of meristem formation and floral identity acquisition in the nascent flower.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Rapid identification of an Arabidopsis NLR gene conferring susceptibility to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum using time-resolved automated phenotyping

The broad host range necrotrophic fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a devastating pathogen of many oil and vegetable crops. Plant genes conferring complete resistance against S. sclerotiorum have not been reported. Instead, plant populations challenged by S. sclerotiorum exhibit a continuum of partial resistance designated as quantitative disease resistance (QDR). Because of their complex interplay and their small phenotypic effect, the functional characterization of QDR genes remains limited. How broad host range necrotrophic fungi manipulate plant programmed cell death is for instance largely unknown. Here, we designed a time-resolved automated disease phenotyping pipeline and assessed the kinetics of disease symptoms caused by seven S. sclerotiorum isolates on six A. thaliana natural accessions with unprecedented resolution. We hypothesized that large effect polymorphisms common to the most resistant A. thaliana accessions, but absent from the most susceptible ones, would point towards disease susceptibility genes. This identified highly divergent alleles of the nucleotide-binding site leucine-rich repeat gene LAZ5 in the resistant accessions Rubenzhnoe and Lip-0. Two LAZ5-deficient mutant lines in the Col-0 genetic background showed enhanced QDR to S. sclerotiorum, whereas plants mutated in the closely related CSA1 gene responded like the wild type. These findings illustrate the value of time-resolved image-based phenotyping for unravelling the genetic bases of complex traits such as QDR. Our results suggest that S. sclerotiorum manipulates plant sphingolipid pathways guarded by LAZ5 to trigger programmed cell death and cause disease.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

ETAPOD: A forecast model for prediction of black pod disease Outbreak in Nigeria

The misuse of toxic fungicides by indigenous cocoa farmers in Nigeria stem from their inability to predict the time for black pod disease (BPD) outbreak. Prediction of possible time for BPD outbreak will provide spotlight on areas under massive BPD invasion, minimise fungicide misuse and increase control accuracy. The Multiple Regression Model (MRM): Y=+{beta}1X1+{beta}2X2+...+{beta}nXn where Y is Nx1 matrix of response variable, X1,X2,...Xn are NxK matrices of regressors, and {beta}1,{beta}2,...{beta}n regression coefficients was used in model development. Eight models (MRM1-MRM8) were fitted from real life BPD data. The performances of the models were ascertained using SER, RMSEpred and R-SqAdj. Prediction(s) made by the best fitted model was compared to real life observations (Monthly BPD Occurrence (MBO), Total Annual Occurrence (TAO), and Average Annual Occurrence (AAO), respectively). The preferred model was MRM5 (ETAPOD) followed by MRM4, MRM1, MRM2, and MRM3 in terms of SER (0.22, 0.39, 0.45, 0.45 and 0.45), RMSEpred.(0.30, 039, 0.46, 0.46 and 0.46) and R-SqAdj.(0.67, 0.49, 0.32, 0.32, and 0.31), respectively. Predictions on BPD outbreak made by ETAPOD showed that MBO, TAO and AAO for some selected stations i.e. Owena and Waasimi were 9.05, 72.3 and 6.0% compared with observed BPD values of 9.5, 70.0, and 5.8%, respectively. Adaagba, Iyanfoworogi, and Owode-Igangan had 9.43, 77.8, and 6.5% as their predicted BPD values compared with the observed values of 9.0, 53.5, and 4.46%, respectively. ETAPOD performed better than other models and its predicted values were within the range of real life occurrence.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

The Ca2+ sensor protein CMI1 fine tunes root development, auxin distribution and responses

Signaling cross-talks between auxin, a regulator of plant development and Ca2+, a universal second messenger have been proposed to modulate developmental plasticity in plants. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. Here we report that in Arabidopsis roots, auxin elicits specific Ca2+ signaling pattern that spatially coincide with the expression pattern of auxin-regulated genes. We identified the EF-hand protein CMI1 (Ca2+ sensor Modulator of ICR1) as an interactor of the ROP effector ICR1 (Interactor of Constitutively active ROP). CMI1 is monomeric in solution, changes its secondary structure at Ca2+ concentrations ranging from 10-9 to 10-8 M and its interaction with ICR1 is Ca2+ dependent, involving a conserved hydrophobic pocket. cmi1 mutants display an increased auxin response including shorter primary roots, longer root hairs, longer hypocotyls and altered lateral root formation while ectopic expression of CMI1 induces root growth arrest and reduced auxin responses at the root tip. When expressed alone, CMI1 is localized at the plasma membrane, the cytoplasm and in nuclei. Interaction of CMI1 and ICR1 results in exclusion of CMI1 from nuclei and suppression of the root growth arrest. CMI1 expression is directly upregulated by auxin while expression of auxin induced genes is enhanced in cmi1 concomitantly with repression of auxin induced Ca2+ increases in the lateral root cap and vasculature, indicating that CMI1 represses early auxin responses. Collectively, our findings identify a crucial function of Ca2+ signaling and CMI1 in root growth and suggest an auxin-Ca2+ regulatory feedback loop that fine tunes root development.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Genetic determination of stomatal patterning in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Leaf stomata are microscopic pores mediating plant-environment interactions. Their role in carbon uptake and transpiration make them prime candidates for improving water use efficiency (WUE). Stomatal density (SD), the number of stomata per unit area, has been shown to be negatively correlated with WUE. However, little is known about the genetic basis of SD in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and to what extant genetic variation exists in contemporary wheat germplasm. Here, we evaluated stomatal patterning over two growing seasons in a set of 333 wheat lines, representing the European winter wheat germplasm. Stomatal patterning was mainly determined by two underlying traits, the distance between files of stomata and the distance between stomata within a file. By haplotype association mapping, quantitative trait loci for SD were consistently detected in both seasons on wheat chromosomes (CHR) 2A, 3A and 7B. The single nucleotide polymorphism markers most significantly associated with SD coincided with the genes INDUCER OF CBF EXPRESSION 1 (ICE1) and STOMATAL CYTOKINESIS-DEFECTIVE 1 (SCD1) on CHR 3A, and genes involved in ethylene and auxin signaling on CHR 2A and 7B, respectively. Our study unlocks the phenotypic and genotypic variation for stomatal patterning traits in contemporary wheat germplasm. It provides gene targets for functional validation and practical tools to manipulate SD using marker-assisted selection for crop improvement.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Priming winter wheat seeds with the bacterial quorum sensing signal N-hexanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C6-HSL) shows potential to improve plant growth and seed yield

Several model plants are known to respond to bacterial quorum sensing molecules with altered root growth and gene expression patterns and induced resistance to plant pathogens. These compounds may represent novel elicitors that could be applied as seed primers to enhance cereal crop resistance to pathogens and abiotic stress and to improve yields. We investigated whether the acyl-homoserine lactone N-hexanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C6-HSL) impacted winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seed germination, plant development and productivity, using two Ukrainian varieties, Volodarka and Yatran 60, in both in vitro experiments and field trials. In vitro germination experiments indicated that C6-HSL seed priming had a small but significant positive impact on germination levels (1.2x increase, p < 0.0001), coleoptile and radicle development (1.4x increase, p < 0.0001). Field trials over two growing seasons (2015-16 and 2016-17) also demonstrated significant improvements in biomass at the tillering stage (1.4x increase, p < 0.0001), and crop structure and productivity at maturity including grain yield (1.4 - 1.5x increase, p < 0.0007) and quality (1.3x increase in good grain, p < 0.0001). In some cases variety effects were observed (p [≤] 0.05) suggesting that the effect of C6-HSL seed priming might depend on plant genetics, and some benefits of priming were also evident in F1 plants grown from seeds collected the previous season (p [≤] 0.05). These field-scale findings suggest that bacterial acyl-homoserine lactones such as C6-HSL could be used to improve cereal crop growth and yield and reduce reliance on fungicides and fertilisers to combat pathogens and stress.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Cell type-specific regulation of nutrient absorption, metabolism and transfer in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) establish symbiotic relationships with most land plants, mainly for the purpose of nutrient exchange. Many studies have revealed the regulation of absorption, metabolism, and transfer of nutrients in AMF and the genes involved in these processes. However, the spatial regulation of the genes among the structures comprising each developmental stage are not well understood. Here, we demonstrate the structure-specific transcriptome of the model AMF species, Rhizophagus irregularis. We performed an ultra-low input RNA-seq analysis, SMART-seq2, comparing five extraradical structures, germ tubes, runner hyphae, branched absorbing structures, immature spores, and mature spores. In addition, we reanalyzed the recently reported RNA-seq data comparing intraradical hyphae and arbuscules. Our analyses captured the distinct features of each structure and revealed the structure-specific expression patterns of genes related to absorption, metabolism, and transfer of nutrients. Of note, the transcriptional profiles suggest the distinct functions of branched absorbing structures in nutrient absorption. These findings provide a comprehensive dataset to advance our understanding of the transcriptional dynamics of fungal nutrition in this symbiotic system.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Cryo-Electron tomography 3D structure and nanoscale model of Arabidopsis thaliana cell wall

Using cryo-electron tomography of vitrified sections of one month-old Arabidopsis thaliana inflorescence stem tissue, we visualized primary and secondary cell walls of xylem tissue. Extensive quantitative and statistical analysis of segmented 3D tomographic data allowed geometrically idealized 3D-CAD model building of prototypic microfibrils, cross-links, and their supramolecular microfibril 3D organization. We propose a prototypic microfibril model where a cellulose core is heavily decorated by a thin sheath of hemicellulose with infrequent but sturdy hemicellulose-based cross-links. Such prototypic microfibrils then adopt a rather unexpected 3D supramolecular organization of high order and complexity. We discuss a possible new role for lignin in plant cell walls at low concentrations with lignin not acting as a matrix but rather as a reinforcement of microfibrils and cross-links. Extensive computational simulations of mechanical properties further revealed that this 3D organization of the cell wall is not optimized for load bearing but instead for flexibility and ductility.\n\nOne Sentence SummaryCryo-electron tomography and mechanical simulations revealed cell wall 3D architecture, optimized for flexibility/ductility.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

How to Build a Fruit: Transcriptomics of a Novel Fruit Type in the Brassiceae

Comparative gene expression studies are invaluable for predicting how existing genetic pathways may be modified or redeployed to produce novel and variable phenotypes. Fruits are ecologically important organs because of their impact on plant fitness and seed dispersal, modifications in which results in morphological variation across species. A novel fruit type in the Brassicaceae known as heteroarthrocarpy enables distinct dispersal methods in a single fruit through segmentation via a lateral joint and variable dehiscence at maturity. Given the close relationship to Arabidopsis, species that exhibit heteroarthrocarpy are powerful models to elucidate how differences in gene expression of a fruit patterning pathway may result in novel fruit types. Transcriptomes of distal, joint, and proximal regions from Erucaria erucarioides and Cakile lanceolata were analyzed to elucidate within and between species differences in whole transcriptome, gene ontology, and fruit patterning expression profiles. Whole transcriptome expression profiles vary between fruit regions in patterns that are consistent with fruit anatomy. These transcriptomic variances do not correlate with changes in gene ontology, as they remain generally stable within and between both species. Upstream regulators in the fruit patterning pathway, FILAMENTOUS FLOWER and YABBY3, are expressed in the distal and proximal regions of E. erucarioides, but not in the joint, implicating alterations in the pathway in heteroarthrocarpic fruits. Downstream gene, INDEHISCENT, is significantly upregulated in the abscissing joint region of C. lanceolata, which suggests repurposing of valve margin genes for novel joint disarticulation in an otherwise indehiscent fruit. In summary, these data are consistent with modifications in fruit patterning genes producing heteroarthrocarpic fruits through different components of the pathway relative to other indehiscent, non-heteroarthrocarpic, species within the family. Our understanding of fruit development in Arabidopsis is now extended to atypical siliques within the Brassicaceae, facilitating future studies on seed shattering in important Brassicaceous crops and pernicious weeds.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Enhancement of chemical constituents in hydrosol and residual water of Aquilaria malaccensis tetraploid

Aquilaria malaccensis is an agarwood-producing species in the family Thymeleaeceae. Agarwood is a fragrant resin used in the manufacture of incense sticks, and in pharmaceutical, perfumery and cosmetic industries. In addition to the resin, hydrosol and residual water by-products from agarwood woodchip distillation are also utilized. Hydrosol contains water-soluble fragrant chemicals used as a tonic drink, in cooking and cosmetics while the residual water is used in spas and aromatic bath treatments. The present study was conducted to identify and compare compounds present in hydrosol and residual water by-products of diploid and polyploid A. malaccensis. Four different four-month-old A. malaccensis plants were compared: soil-grown diploid seedlings (DS), in vitro-grown seedlings (DV), tissue culture-derived plantlets (DC) and artificially induced tetraploid plantlets (TC). Hydrosol water from TC leaf and root samples were found to contain higher amounts of compounds compared with other samples. The TC leaf samples were qualitatively better as key compounds of agarwood such as -and {gamma}-eudesmol were detected. TC stem samples also contained higher amounts of key compounds compared with other samples, while the overall amount of compounds was highest in DS stem samples. The residual water of TC stem and root samples contained key compounds not detected in other samples, while DS residual water samples contained the highest total amount of compounds. Aquilaria malaccensis tetraploids performed better than their diploid counterparts in production of compounds, and thus may be a better planting material choice for commercial plantations.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Arabidopsis Myosins XI Are Involved in Exocytosis of Cellulose Synthase Complexes

In plants, cellulose is synthesized at the cell surface by plasma membrane (PM)-localized cellulose synthase (CESA) complexes (CSCs). The molecular and cellular mechanisms that underpin delivery of CSCs to the PM, however, are poorly understood. Cortical microtubules have been shown to interact with CESA-containing compartments and mark the site for CSC delivery, but are not required for the delivery itself. Here, we demonstrate that myosin XI and the actin cytoskeleton mediate CSC delivery to the PM by coordinating the exocytosis of CESA-containing compartments. Measurement of cellulose content indicated that cellulose biosynthesis was significantly reduced in a myosin xik xi1 xi2 triple knockout (xi3KO) mutant. By combining genetic and pharmacological disruption of myosin activity with quantitative live-cell imaging, we observed decreased abundance of PM-localized CSCs and reduced delivery rate of CSCs in myosin-deficient cells. These phenotypes correlated with a significant increase in failed vesicle secretion events at the PM as well as an abnormal accumulation of CESA-containing compartments at the cell cortex. Through high spatiotemporal assays of cortical vesicle behavior, we identified defects in CSC vesicle tethering and fusion at the PM. Furthermore, disruption of myosin activity reduced the delivery of several other secretory markers to the PM and reduced constitutive and receptor-mediated endocytosis. These findings reveal a previously undescribed role for myosin in vesicle secretion and cellulose production at the cytoskeleton-PM-cell wall nexus.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Carbon sink services for tropical coastal seagrass are far lower than anticipated when accounting for black carbon

Valuing the sedimentary blue carbon stocks of seagrass meadows in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions requires the exclusion of allochthonous recalcitrant forms, such as black carbon (BC) from the stock assessment. Regression models constructed across a tropical estuary predicted that carbon sinks within the more abundant sandy meadows of coastal bays likely support a significant but modest BC fraction. We tested the prediction by measuring BC fractions of total organic carbon (TOC) across three coastal meadows of the same region. One patchy meadow was located close to a major urban centre while the remaining two continuous meadows where contained in separate open embayments of a rural marine park, differing in fetch and species. In all cases, the BC/TOC fractions were significantly greater than predicted constituting a major component of the organic carbon content, 28% {+/-} 1.6, and 26% {+/-} 4.9 to 36% {+/-} 1.5 ({+/-}95% confidence intervals) for urban and marine park meadows respectively. The higher BC/TOC fractions were explained by site-specific variability in BC atmospheric supply, patchy coverage, and a presumed increase in the loss of seagrass litter, as determined by the canopy height and proximity to the meadows exposed edge.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Mechanistic insights into the evolution of DUF26-containing proteins in land plants

Large protein families are a prominent feature of plant genomes and their size variation is a key element for adaptation in plants. Here we infer the evolutionary history of a representative protein family, the DOMAIN OF UNKNOWN FUNCTION (DUF) 26-containing proteins. The DUF26 first appeared in secreted proteins. Domain duplications and rearrangements led to the emergence of CYSTEINE-RICH RECEPTOR-LIKE PROTEIN KINASES (CRKs) and PLASMODESMATA-LOCALIZED PROTEINS (PDLPs). While the DUF26 itself is specific to land plants, structural analyses of Arabidopsis PDLP5 and PDLP8 ectodomains revealed strong similarity to fungal lectins. Therefore, we propose that DUF26-containing proteins constitute a novel group of plant carbohydrate-binding proteins. Following their appearance, CRKs expanded both through tandem duplications and preferential retention of duplicates in whole genome duplication events, whereas PDLPs evolved according to the dosage balance hypothesis. Based on our findings, we suggest that the main mechanism of expansion in new gene families is small-scale duplication, whereas genome fractionation and genetic drift after whole genome multiplications drive families towards dosage balance.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Novel allelic variant of Lpa1 gene associated with a significant reduction in seed phytic acid content in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

In plants, myo-inositol-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexakisphosphate (InsP6), also known as phytic acid (PA), is a major component of organic phosphorus (P), and accounts for up to 85% of the total P in seeds. In rice (Oryza sativa L.), PA mainly accumulates in rice bran, and chelates mineral cations, resulting in mineral deficiencies among brown rice consumers. Therefore, considerable efforts have been focused on the development of low PA (LPA) rice cultivars. In this study, we performed genetic and molecular analyses of OsLpa1, a major PA biosynthesis gene, in Sanggol, a low PA mutant variety developed via chemical mutagenesis of Ilpum rice cultivar. Genetic segregation and sequencing analyses revealed that a recessive allele, lpa1-3, at the OsLpa1 locus (Os02g0819400) was responsible for a significant reduction in seed PA content in Sanggol. The lpa1-3 gene harboured a point mutation (C623T) in the fourth exon of the predicted coding region, resulting in threonine (Thr) to isoleucine (Ile) amino acid substitution at position 208 (Thr208Ile). Three-dimensional analysis of Lpa1 protein structure indicated that myo-inositol 3-monophosphate [Ins(3)P1] kinase binds to the active site of Lpa1, with ATP as a cofactor for catalysis. Furthermore, the presence of Thr208 in the loop adjacent to the entry site of the binding pocket suggests that Thr208Ile substitution is involved in regulating enzyme activity via phosphorylation. Therefore, we propose that Thr208Ile substitution in lpa1-3 reduces Lpa1 enzyme activity in Sanggol, resulting in reduced PA biosynthesis.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Monocotyledonous vascular bundles characterized by image analysis and pattern recognition

Recent advances in image analysis and pattern recognition have paved the way to several developments in plant science. In the present work, we report the comparative study, by using the aforementioned approaches, of vascular bundles of Dracaena marginata. More specifically, we used 33 measurements related to shape, density and regularity of imaged cross-sections of the stem. By using individual, pairwise and PCA projections of the adopted measurements, we were able to find the combinations of measurements leading to the best separation between the considered tissues. In particular, the best separation was obtained for entropy taken at a particular spatial scale combined with the equivalent diameter. The reported developments open several perspectives for applications in content-based retrieval, diagnosis, and species identification.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Factors influencing the measurement of assimilation and stomatal conductance with the LI-COR 6400XT gas exchange system.

Although CO2 and H2O exchange rates are often measured in experiments as indicators of physiological plant responses these \"gas exchange\" measurements are prone to large experimental error. Gas exchange equipment and technology have improved greatly over the past two decades which supports scrutinizing current issues of experimental error in measuring plant photosynthesis and stomatal conductance. This report shows results of a greenhouse experiment with the goal of identifying lessor understood sources of experimental error and variation in measurements with the LI-COR 6400XT gas exchange system. A variety of plant types were used to encompass differing species variation. We found significant sources of experimental error in 1) the time for initial adjustment when placing a leaf in the leaf chamber 2) the time-of-day when measuring 3) leaf age 4) having the chamber window full vs. partially full with leaf tissue 5) using a leaf chamber environment that greatly diverges from the whole plant environment 6) differing degree of experimental error depending upon plant species. A situation with multiple contributors to error would result in useless gas-exchange data. Recommendations for minimizing these experimental errors are given.

plant biology↗