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A multiplexed gas exchange system for increased throughput of photosynthetic capacity measurements

Authors :
William T. Salter
Matthew E. Gilbert
Thomas N. Buckley
Source :
Plant Methods, Vol 14, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2018)
Publication Year :
2018
Publisher :
BMC, 2018.

Abstract

Abstract Background Existing methods for directly measuring photosynthetic capacity (A max) have low throughput, which creates a key bottleneck for pre-breeding and ecological research. Currently available commercial leaf gas exchange systems are not designed to maximize throughput, on either a cost or time basis. Results We present a novel multiplexed semi-portable gas exchange system, OCTOflux, that can measure A max with approximately 4–7 times the throughput of commercial devices, despite a lower capital cost. The main time efficiency arises from having eight leaves simultaneously acclimate to saturating CO2 and high light levels; the long acclimation periods for each leaf (13.8 min on average in this study) thus overlap to a large degree, rather than occurring sequentially. The cost efficiency arises partly from custom-building the system and thus avoiding commercial costs like distribution, marketing and profit, and partly from optimizing the system’s design for A max throughput rather than flexibility for other types of measurements. Conclusion Throughput for A max measurements can be increased greatly, on both a cost and time basis, by multiplexing gas streams from several leaf chambers connected to a single gas analyzer. This can help overcome the bottleneck in breeding and ecological research posed by limited phenotyping throughput for A max.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
17464811
Volume :
14
Issue :
1
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Plant Methods
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.9c82a6f736a41978d79aef126d5d9b2
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13007-018-0347-y