Frisk, C. A. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2022

Phenotypic Variation from Waterlogging in Multiple Perennial Ryegrass Varieties under Climate Change Conditions

Identifying how various components of climate change will influence ecosystems and vegetation subsistence will be fundamental to mitigate negative effects. Climate change-induced waterlogging is understudied in comparison to temperature and CO2. Grasslands are especially vulnerable through the connection with global food security, with perennial ryegrass dominating many flood-prone pasturelands in North-western Europe. We investigated the effect of long-term waterlogging on phenotypic responses of perennial ryegrass using four varieties grown in atmospherically controlled growth chambers (ambient vs 2050, +2{degrees}C and eCO2) during two months of peak growth. Using image analysis and PCA methodologies, we assess how multiple predictors (phenotypic, environmental, genetic and temporal) influence overall plant performance and productivity. Long-term waterlogging was found to reduce leaf-colour intensity, with younger plants having purple hues indicative of anthocyanins. Plant performance and yield was lower in waterlogged plants, with tetraploid varieties coping better than diploid ones. The climate change treatment was found to reduce colour intensities further. Flooding was found to reduce plant productivity via reductions in colour pigments and root proliferation. These effects will have negative consequences for global food security from facing extreme weather events and flooding. Our approach can be adapted as plant health diagnostics tools via remote sensing and drone-technology.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2018

Temperate grass allergy season defined by spatio-temporal shifts in airborne pollen communities

Grass pollen is the worlds most harmful outdoor aeroallergen and sensitivity varies between species. Different species of grass flower at different times, but it is not known how airborne communities of grass pollen change in time and space. Persistence and high mobility of grass pollen could result in increasingly diverse seasonal pollen communities. Conversely, if grass pollen does not persist for an extended time in the air, shifting pollen communities would be predicted throughout the summer months. Here, using targeted high throughput sequencing, we tracked the seasonal progression of airborne Poaceae pollen biodiversity across Britain, throughout the grass allergy season. All grass genera displayed discrete, temporally restricted peaks of pollen incidence which varied with latitude, revealing that the taxonomic composition of grass pollen exposure changes substantially across the allergy season. By developing more refined aeroallergen profiling, we predict that our findings will facilitate the exploration of links between taxon-specific exposure of harmful grass pollen and disease, with concomitant socio-economic benefits.

ecology↗