Location: Water Management and Systems Research
Project Number: 3012-13210-001-019-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Mar 1, 2025
End Date: Oct 30, 2027
Objective:
The objectives of this cooperative research project between USDA-ARS and Cooperator are:
1) Complete the development and testing of a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of plant water transport in vascular plant xylem.
2) Use the developed CFD model to predict the effect of key xylem anatomical features on the embolism resistance of crop species and/or other agricultural model systems.
3) Perform experiments to determine the anatomical and regulatory networks underpinning drought and freezing tolerance, as well as the possible tradeoff between drought resistance and freezing tolerance.
Approach:
The Cooperator and USDA-ARS scientists will work closely together to design experiments (field, greenhouse, growth chamber), build and evaluate computer models, and develop theory to advance our understanding how crop plants should be modified to improve their performance under water limited conditions.
- Objective 1 approach. A new CFD model, currently being development in the Ocheltree and Gleason labs, will be tested against empirical data previously collected in our labs, including 3D micro-CT scans of xylem, and hydraulic conductivity measurements across membrane filters, to ensure the model accurately predicts xylem-specific conductivity values of complex porous materials.
- Objective 2 approach. After testing the CFD model against various validation datasets (Obj 1), the model will then be used to modify key anatomical features of plant xylem (e.g., pit chamber dimensions, pit membrane thickness and porosity) to evaluate their potential relationship with embolism resistance, and therefore drought tolerance.
- Objective 3 approach. Greenhouse and growth chamber experiments will be preformed with crop species, e.g., summer vs winter wheat, to determine if tradeoffs between freezing tolerance and drought resistance exist, and therefore need to be considered in crop improvement programs. Additionally, the regulatory networks governing freezing and drought adaptations will be measured using standard RNA methods, to better understand the causal mechanisms underpinning drought resistance and freezing tolerance, and whether or not these causal mechanisms are aligned with CFD modeling predictions (Objs 1 & 2).
