Shoot Dynamics

Measuring and understanding photo-synthesis and dynamic shoot traits from single leafs to the ecosystem

We aim to improve our scientific (biological) understanding of plant shoot functioning and dynamic shoot traits from the leaf to the canopy, which will provide the basis to optimize plant production.

Our special focus is on

understanding of the regulatory properties of photosynthesis,
the mechanisms of leaf and canopy water content and transpiration as well as
the dynamics in shoot architecture in crops.

For this we use and further develop optical phenotyping methods, fluorescence techniques, thermal methods as well as molecular and biochemical approaches. We apply our manual and automated approaches from the level of single leaves and plants in the laboratory and greenhouse to the canopy and field scale and finally in the frame of the FLEX satellite mission to the globe.

In our group with currently about 30 members, we span the spatial scales from the leaf to the field and the globe. Fluorescence techniques are the main approach that allows us to link processes across a wide range of scales.

**Sub Groups**
Understanding the regulation of carotenoid biosynthesis and photoacclimation under dynamically changing environments We aim to better understand molecular and cellular processes that control acclimatory modulation of photosynthesis and photoprotection under fluctuating and dynamic environmental conditions. By combining novel set-ups and sensors we study quantitatively the phenotypic changes arising at different levels (gene expression, biochemical composition, growth and morphology) under non-steady-state conditions in the laboratory and the greenhouse References Matsubara, S., Schneider, T., Maurino, V. G., Dissecting Long-Term Adjustments of Photoprotective and Photo-Oxidative Stress Acclimation Occurring in Dynamic Light Environments. Frontiers in Functional Plant Ecology 7, 1690 (2016). Lätari, K., Wüst, F., Hübner, M., Schaub, P., Matsubara, S., et al., Tissue-Specific Apocarotenoid Glycosylation Contributes to Carotenoid Homeostasis in Arabidopsis Leaves. Plant Physiology 168(4), 1550 - 1562 (2015). Team PD Dr. Shizue Matsubara Anh Banh Dr. Einhard Kleist Maria Paola Puggioni Edelgard Schölgens
Non-invasive field phenotyping to better understand and link leaf photosynthesis and transport processes to canopy functioning We aim to develop knowledge driven phenotyping approaches that close the gap between phenotyping in the greenhouse and field-phenotyping. We use our portfolio of measurement approaches to scale cell and leaf level processes to the canopy and to develop a better scientific understanding of the seasonal dynamics of relevant canopy traits in crops. References Müller-Linow, M., Pinto-Espinosa, F., Scharr, H., Rascher, U., The leaf angle distribution of natural plant populations: assessing the canopy with a novel software tool. Plant Methods 11(1), 11 (2015). Pinto, F., Müller-Linow, M., Schickling, A., Cendrero, P., Rascher, U., et al., Multiangular Observation of Canopy Sun-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence by Combining Imaging Spectroscopy and Stereoscopy. Remote Sensing 9(5), 415 (2017). Team Dr. Onno Muller Kelvin Acebron Dr. Pilar Cendrero Dr. Christoph Jedmowski Dr. Laura Junker Beat Keller Ines Munoz-Fernandez Luka Olbertz Vikas Pingle Edelgard Schölgens Angelina Steier Marie Theiss Dr. Anna van Doorn Norman Wilke
Proximity and remote sensing for a better understanding of the spatio-temporal dynamics of photosynthesis by using hyperspectral and sun-induced fluorescence techniques We develop new high resolution reflectance and fluorescence techniques to map energy conversion in natural canopies. Our special focus is in exploiting the information content of vegetation fluorescence to measure photosynthetic efficiency and early physiological stress indicators. We are fundamentally involved in the preparation of the European Earth Explorer Satellite Mission FLEX, which will be launched in 2022 and which will provide global maps of actual vegetation photosynthesis and plant stress by the measurement of solar induced fluorescence. References Ač, A., Malenovský, Z., Olejníčková, J., Gallé, A., Rascher, U., et al., G., Meta-analysis assessing potential of steady-state chlorophyll fluorescence for remote sensing detection of plant water, temperature and nitrogen stressplant. Remote sensing of environment 168, 420 - 436 (2015). Rascher, U., Alonso, L., Burkart, A., Cilia, C., Cogliati, S., et al., Sun-induced fluorescence - a new probe of photosynthesis: First maps from the imaging spectrometer HyPlant. Global Change Biology 21(12), 4673 - 4684 (2015). Team Prof. Dr. Uwe Rascher Kelvin Acebron Dr. A.Burkart Dr. Pilar Cendrero Dzhaner Emin Sascha Heinemann Dr. Maria Matveeva Ines Munoz-Fernandez Vikas Pingle Patrick Rademske Dr. Anke Schickling Edelgard Schölgens Dr. Bastian Siegmann Angelina Steier Dr. Anna van Doorn Norman Wilke