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