How do plants process and utilize the light environmental information that they have experienced?

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K22343
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 41:Agricultural economics and rural sociology, agricultural engineering, and related fields
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Matsuda Ryo 東京大学, 大学院農学生命科学研究科(農学部), 准教授 (20547228)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-06-28 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 光合成有効光量子束密度（PPFD） / 変動光 / 光順化 / 光合成能力 / LMA / LED

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We reproduced light in which photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) fluctuates at various time scales, including sunlight at the ground surface, in a laboratory and investigated its effects on the growth, development, and light acclimation responses of plants. We observed that diurnal PPFD fluctuations initially affected growth and development, but the effects became smaller after prolonged irradiation. We also proposed an estimation method for the degree of light acclimation responses to PPFD that changed day to day using a time-weighted average of daily PPFDs.

Free Research Field

生物環境工学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

施設や露地圃場など、太陽光のPPFDが種々の時間スケールで変動する条件において、植物がそのPPFD変動の情報をどのように認識・利用して自身の「体づくり」に活かしているのかという基本的な知見が得られた。また将来的には、例えば施設園芸において、植物の生育・収量をより精確に予測すること、さらには光環境制御によって望ましい形質をあらかじめ植物に付与することなどに貢献する可能性がある。