According to a new study, plant species adapt to their altitude by ‘sensing’ the oxygen levels in their environment.
Altitude is an important aspect of plant ecology, with mountains containing at least 30% of plant species variety, and climate change is causing alpine species and some crops to migrate to higher altitudes.
Plants can sense atmospheric oxygen levels (which decrease with height) using a process discovered by scientists at the University of Nottingham, which will aid in understanding how plants exist at high altitude.
The Leverhulme Trust supported the research, which was done in partnership with experts in Spain and Ecuador. Their findings were published in Nature today.
Plants growing at low and high altitudes were studied by the researchers. The team, which included researchers from Nottingham, Ecuador, and Spain, was able to figure out how oxygen sensing regulates the chlorophyll production pathway, allowing plants to adapt the quantities of a crucial harmful molecule to ambient oxygen levels.
Climate change is causing wild species and crops (such as coffee) to migrate to higher elevations, and this study sheds fresh light on the genetic systems that determine their ability to thrive at different altitudes.
This new understanding of the genetic alterations that plants go through as they get higher in altitude could lead to new ways for plant breeders to assist crops grow at greater altitudes.
Altitude is a key component of ecology with different altitudes subjecting plants to changing environments, some components of which are fixed by altitude and others that are not. For life at high altitude, it was previously considered that plants need to adapt to many variables, including high UV light and lower temperatures usually present at high altitude but this study is the first time that perception of atmospheric oxygen levels has been shown to be a key determinant of altitude adaptation in plants.
Professor Michael Holdsworth
Professor Michael Holdsworth of the University of Nottingham led the study, which was carried out in partnership with Professor Karina Proao of ESPE University in Sangolqu, Ecuador, and Professor Carlos Alonso Blanco of the Spanish National Centre for Biotechnology CSIC.
Professor Holdsworth commented: “Altitude is a key component of ecology with different altitudes subjecting plants to changing environments, some components of which are fixed by altitude and others that are not. For life at high altitude, it was previously considered that plants need to adapt to many variables, including high UV light and lower temperatures usually present at high altitude but this study is the first time that perception of atmospheric oxygen levels has been shown to be a key determinant of altitude adaptation in plants.”
He continues: “Exploring this novel finding allowed us to show that atmospheric oxygen level is the key determinant of altitude perception. We define the molecular pathway through which oxygen-sensing results in an adapted phenotype and we find that distinct species of flowering plants are adapted to absolute altitude through conserved oxygen-sensing control of chlorophyll synthesis and hypoxia gene expression. Showing that this mechanism works in diverse species provides a new paradigm for plant ecology.”
The Leverhulme Trust has provided grants and fellowships for research and education since its founding in 1925. It is now one of the UK’s top all-subject funders of research projects, fellowships, studentships, bursaries, and prizes, with an annual budget of £100 million.
The awards are made in a responsive way, with candidates choosing their own topic and study design. Research that spans disciplinary boundaries or is ready to take risks in the pursuit of new information or understanding is given special consideration.
