Species possess characteristics that are considered adapted to burning and these allow them to outcompete species and dominate in fire prone environments. It has therefore been proposed that fire might have played a critical role in the observed expansion of the grasslands, during the late Miocene. The aim of this study was (i) to investigate whether plant response to fire was a result of physiology or (ii) whether it was due to phylogenetic history. This was achieved by doing a pair-wise comparison between Panicoideae (and Panicoideae) and non-Panicoideae (Danthonioideae and Aristidoideae) species. Pre-fire characteristics, that would enhance fire frequency and assist with plant recovery after burning, were compared across phylogenies and photosynthetic type. Post fire plant recovery was then followed in a field and pot comparison which examined the re-growth of the leaf canopy area, leaf mass, above-ground biomass and the cost of this to the below-ground biomass. The pre-fire characteristics showed both a photosynthetic and phylogenetic response. It was found that the species showed a greater canopy death during winter and had a lower moisture content than the species. These characteristics would potentially contribute towards a larger fuel load in the species. However, the comparison of the dead standing biomass at the end of winter and the below-ground biomass, showed a phylogenetic response with the Panicoideae having a proportionally larger dead standing biomass and below-ground biomass than the non-Panicoideae. These results suggest that not only did the Panicoideae have a larger potential fuel load but that they also shunted carbon below-ground, enabling a fast recovery after being burned. The post-fire results were more strongly determined by phylogeny than by photosynthetic type. The Panicoideae recovered faster and more completely than the non-Panicoideae grasses, possibly contributing to their success and expansion under conditions of increased fire frequency. Although recovery of the and Panicoideae were similar, frequently burnt grasslands are dominated by the Panicoideae. Hence, this dominance cannot be explained by differences in their fire responses and may be determined by the post-fire environmental conditions that potentially advantage species possessing the photosynthetic pathway. Panicoideae dominance is limited to mesic environments where fire is the likely driver of grassland expansion while more arid environments are dominated by non-Panicoideae species. Representative species from these non-Panicoid subfamilies showed poor recovery after fire. This suggests that factors other than fire were the likely drivers of these xeric grassland expansions. The ability of these subfamilies, and particularly the species, to cope with drought remains a likely selective mechanism that requires further research.

Les bases moléculaires des réponses aux excès de lumière chez les organismes photosynthétiques appartenant à des lignées évolutives distinctes ne sont toujours pas complètement caractérisées. Par conséquent, j'ai caractérisé des antennes photoprotectrices dans les algues vertes, les mousses et les diatomées et j'ai exploré la fonction de deux cycles de xanthophylles chez les diatomées.J'ai étudié les protéines Light Harvesting Complex Stress-Related (LHCSR) dans tous ces organismes. Chez l'algue verte Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, j’ai identifié par mutagénèse dirigée, complémentation fonctionnelle et par une approche biochimique les acides aminés responsables de l'activation de LHCSR3, une protéine importante pour le NPQ.Dans le modèle de mousse Physcomitrella patens, j'ai etudié in vitro les caractéristiques spectroscopique ainsi que le quenching de différents mutants de liaison de pigment sur la protéine LHCSR1.Les protéines LHCSR dans les diatomées sont nommées LHCXs, et dans Phaeodactylum tricornutum j'ai montré que l'expansion de la famille des gènes LHCX reflète une diversification fonctionnelle de ces protéines permettant de répondre à des environnements marins très variables.L'autre acteur principal de la photoprotection dans les diatomées est le cycle des xanthophylles. J’ai trouvé que l'accumulation d'une grande quantité de viola- et zéaxanthin a un effet négatif sur le NPQ montrant que la zéaxanthin ne participe pas au NPQ chez diatomées.Grâce à ces études effectuées, nous avons acquis une connaissance plus approfondie sur les caractéristiques communes et les spécificités de la photoprotection.chez différents organismes. / The molecular bases of responses to light excess in photosynthetic organisms having different evolutionary histories and belonging to different lineages are still not completely characterized. Therefore I explored the functions of photoprotective antennae in green algae, mosses and diatoms, together with the role of the two xanthophyll cycles present in diatoms.I studied the Light Harvesting Complex Stress-Related (LHCSR) proteins in different organisms. In the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, LHCSR3 is a protein important for photoprotection. I used site-specific mutagenesis in vivo and in vitro and identified three residues of LHCSR3 that are responsible for its activation.With the moss Physcomitrella patens I studied the in vitro spectroscopic and quenching characteristics of different pigment-binding mutants of the protein LHCSR1, focusing in particular on chlorophylls A2 and A5.LHCSRs in diatoms are named LHCXs, and in Phaeodactylum tricornutum I found that multiple abiotic stress signals converge to regulate the LHCX content of cells, providing a way to fine-tune light harvesting and photoprotection.The other main driver of photoprotection in diatoms is the xanthophyll cycle. Here I found that the accumulation of viola- and zeaxanthin in P. tricornutum have a negative effect in the development of NPQ, showing that zeaxanthin does not participate in the enhancing of NPQ in diatoms.Thanks to these studies done on different organisms, we gained a deeper knowledge on the shared characteristics and on the peculiar features about photoprotection in green algae, mosses and diatoms.

Changing climate in combination with growing world populations mean that there is growing need for plants to be grown on land that is currently considered marginal for agriculture. Sorghum is a C4 plant that serves as an important food crop in Africa and India. It is also known to be highly drought tolerant but the mechanisms responsible for this tolerance are unclear. The overall aim of this study was to understand the drought tolerance mechanisms that enable the plant to maintain leaf function for a long time during water deficit. In Chapter 2 of this thesis, I studied the underlying physiological mechanisms for tolerating drought in two sorghum varieties with differing degrees of drought tolerance compared to a closely related species, Zea mays. During progressive drought, the more tolerant sorghum variety Samsorg 17 maintained net CO2 assimilation and photochemistry longest relative to the less tolerant Samsorg 40 and Zea mays. Differences were also seen in stomatal aperture, stomatal density, total chlorophyll content, chl a:b and A/Ci curve responses with maize more affected than the sorghum varieties. In Chapter 3, I identified novel drought tolerance mechanisms in the sorghum varieties. The less tolerant Samsorg 40 lost PsbA (D1) and Rubisco proteins and reengineered its photosynthetic apparatus to accumulate amino acids and sugars in order to maximise survival under drought. Samsorg 17 maintained photosynthetic proteins notably PsbA (D1) and Rubisco and accumulated high constitutive sugar content allowing for the maintenance of transpiration and photosynthesis. The two sorghum varieties had strikingly contrasting approaches of tolerating drought as demonstrated in Chapter 3. In Chapter 4, the aim was to characterise biochemical and metabolic changes that occur in response to drought. In particular, to identify sugars that are accumulated constitutively in Samsorg 17 and nitrogen sinks for lost N in Samsorg 40. My findings indicated a contrasting response in terms of sugar content in Samsorg 17 but support for amino acids as N sinks in Samsorg 40 as reported earlier. Sugars, sugar alcohols, lipids, organic acids, heat shock proteins and dehydrins were generally higher or more induced in Samsorg 17 relative to Samsorg 40. Samsorg 40 rather made amino acids. The implications of my findings and future work arising from this study were discussed in detail in the final chapter. In conclusion, in this thesis, it was demonstrated that closely related plants can have mechanistically different physiological and biochemical mechanisms for responding to drought.

Solar energy is a sustainable resource which has substantial potential to meet the increasing demand for renewable energy. Though there has been some success in harvesting solar energy for electricity production, converting solar energy to chemical energy as fuels is still a challenge due to low efficiency. Since the discovery of TiO2 photocatalysts for splitting water (4) and reducing CO2 (5) to form useful chemical feedstock such as H2, CO and CH4, much research has been done to increase the efficiency of photocatalysts. However, the current conversion efficiency of photocatalysts remains low (~5%) (6, 7). Issues being addressed include the wide bandgap and mismatched band edge for reactions (thermodynamic energy for reaction), poor quantum efficiency of the photon collector systems, high recombination of e-/h+ pairs and limitation in the rate of charge transfer from photocatalyst to reactants. This work focuses on improving efficiency of photocatalysts for fuel production through several approaches: (1) engineering a metal-organic-framework (MOF) to have proper band gaps and band edges for targeted reactions and for enhancing photoadsorption in the visible light range, (2) tuning an ABO3-type perovskite for desired bandgaps and thermodynamically favored bandedges for CO2 reduction with water in visible light range. A porphyrin-based Ti-MOF is studied for CO2 photoreduction to gaseous chemical fuels such as CH4 and CO. The porphyrin linkers allow porphyrin-based MOF-525 to achieve narrow bandgap (Eg = ~1.7eV) to absorb visible light, indicating its ability to harvest more solar energy than conventional TiO2. Ti/Zr-MOF-525 also exhibited the appropriate energy level alignment for CO2 and H2O redox reaction for CO and CH4 production. Its CO2 photoreactivity under visible light was demonstrated in a photoreaction, illuminated by 150W Xenon solar simulator. Interestingly, Ti/Zr-MOF-525 demonstrates a selectivity toward CH4, a more valuable fuels than CO. The gas phase reaction condition is an advance over liquid photoreaction. The catalyst stability was also studied and presented. After 3 cycles of reactions, Ti/Zr-MOF-525 is relatively stable for CO2 photoreduction and able to maintain its photoreactivity at about 60-65% of fresh catalyst. The reduction of reactivity is due to a less stable fresh catalyst. When investigating LaCr1-xFexO3 perovskite oxides for photocatalyst, it was found that when replacing Cr ions at the B sites of LaCrO3 by Fe ions, the bandgap does not follow a linear trend in regards to metal ratio composition but rather reflects the smaller bandgap of LaFeO3. Bandedges were successfully measured for the new synthesized materials. At x = 0.25, the conduction band potential remains similar with x = 0. However, at x = 0.75, the conduction band potential was more negative than either perovskites at x = 0 or x = 1. Future simulation of density of state could address this interesting observation. CO2 reduction relativities of each perovskites were predicted well by their measured bandgaps and bandedges. Among five studied perovskites, synthesized LaCr0.25Fe0.75O3 (x = 0.75) is the most active for CO2 photoreduction under visible illumination at room temperature thanks to its small bandgap (2.0 eV) and its suitable bandedges for CO2 photoreduction.

Le processus photosynthétique se traduit par un flux d’électron impliquant différents complexes de la membrane thylacoïdale. Ce flux peut adopter deux chemins différents : le transfert d’électron linéaire (Merchant, Prochnik et al. 2007) à travers lequel les électrons sont transférés de l’eau oxydée au niveau du Photosystème II (PSII), au NADPH réduit par le PSI ; et le transfert d’électron cyclique autour du Photosystème I (PSI) et du complexe cytochrome b6f. Ces flux d’électrons sont couplés à un pompage de proton du stroma vers le lumen générant une différence de potentiel transmembranaire, permettant la synthèse d’ATP (Allen 2002). La coexistence de ces deux flux est considéré comme nécessaire à la fixation et la métabolisation des molécules de dioxyde de carbone (Seelert, Poetsch et al. 2000 ; Munekage, Hashimoto et al. 2004) dans un rapport stricte ATP / NADPH. Cette coexistence qui semble essentiel soulève la question des mécanismes qui prévalent à l’implication des mêmes acteurs photosynthétiques, dans une même membrane, dans l’un ou l’autre mode de transfert d’électron. Chez l’algue verte Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, nous avons démontré que la commutation entre les deux transferts était dépendante de l’état redox des cellules, mais contrairement à ce qui avait été suggéré dans les études précédentes (Bulté, Rebeillé et al. 1990 ; Finazzi, Rappaport et al. 2002) indépendante du phénomène de transition d’état (Takahashi, Clowez et al. 2013), qui implique la migration latérale des complexes antennaires au sein de la membrane. L’association de ces antennes au Photosystème I conduirait à la séquestration, dans une même entité biochimique, des différents acteurs du mode cyclique. Cette formation de supercomplexe dans les conditions anoxiques, à fait l’objet d’une étude fonctionnelle in vitro, laissant quelques questions ouvertes sur leurs capacités fonctionnelles. Ce travail de thèse présente aussi la caractérisation d’une limitation transitoire des accepteurs du Photosystème I, en début d’anoxie pendant laquelle il n’est pas possible d’observer d’oxydation de P700, à 705 nm. Ce phénomène dû à la recombinaison de charge est créé par un engorgement du pool de NADPH. L’oxydation spontanée du PSI au bout d’un certain temps d’anoxie implique l’induction de l’hydrogénase, acceptant les électrons du PSI. Il reste possible d’induire cette évolution de l’oxydation de P700 lorsque les cellules sont constamment sous illumination dans les conditions anoxiques, impliquant cette fois ci, la voie de l’ATP chloroplastique. L’ATP synthétisé à la lumière permettrait la consommation de NADPH via le cycle de Benson Calvin. / The photosynthetic process relies on an electron flow involving several complexes in the thylakoid membranes of photosynthetic organisms. This flux can follow two possibly competing pathways: the linear electron transfer through which electrons are transferred from water (which is oxidized) to NADP+ (which is reduced), which is coupled to the generation of a transmembrane potential difference allowing the synthesis of ATP (Allen 2002); the cyclic pathway (around PSI and Cytochrome b6f complex) which only allows the production of ATP. These two pathways are thought to be essential for the reduction of CO2 and must likely coexist to allow the photosynthetic ATP/NADPH ratio to meet the requirement of the reduction of CO2 into carbohydrates (Seelert, Poetsch et al. 2000 ; Munekage, Hashimoto et al. 2004). This mere statement raises the question of the mechanisms that prevail in the implication of the same actors, within the same membrane, in either one of the two functional modes. In the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, our results show that the regulation of cyclic electron transfer is controlled by the redox poise and not by the lateral migration of antennae (Takahashi, Clowez et al. 2013), and disprove with the conclusion drawn from previous studies (Bulté, Rebeillé et al. 1990 ; Finazzi, Rappaport et al. 2002) according to which state transition would determine this switch. The association of these antennae to Photosystem I would promote the sequestration, within a single unit, of all the actors of the cyclic mode. Functional studies, in vitro, of supercomplex formation under anoxic conditions, questions on their functional capacities. This PhD work presents also the characterization of transient ‘’acceptor side limitation’’ of PSI, upon the onset of anoxia where it is not possible to observe an oxidation of P700 in 705 nm. This phenomenon due to the charge recombination is created by an accumulation of NADPH. The spontaneous oxidation of the PSI acceptor pool, after some time under anoxia, involves the hydrogenase induction, accepting the electrons from NADPH. It’s also possible to induce this PSI oxidation as soon as cells are constantly under illumination, involving chloroplast ATP pathway. ATP synthesised in the light, allow the consumption of NADPH through Benson-Calvin cycle.

La saline de Sfax est un environnement thalasso halin (milieu salé alimenté par de l’eau de mer) riche en plancton malgré la contrainte du sel et l’intensité lumineuse élevée. Cette richesse est due à ses facteurs physico-chimiques particuliers. L’analyse STATICO a mis en évidence que l’azote et le phosphore peuvent influencer la distribution du phytoplancton en plus de la salinité qui domine dans ce milieu particulier. En se basant sur ce dernier paramètre, nous avons pu regrouper les espèces selon leur tolérance au sel. Afin de mieux comprendre le comportement du phytoplancton, trois espèces autotrophes Dunaliella salina (Chlorophycée), Cylindrotheca closterium (diatomée) et Phormidium versicolor Cyanophycée) ont été isolées, identifiées puis cultivées en batch dans de l’eau de mer artificielle sous trois niveaux d’éclairement et en présence de trois concentrations en NaCl. La croissance, l’activité photosynthétique ainsi que l’activité enzymatique anti-oxydante ont été mesurées. L’appareil photosynthétique de la Chlorophycée et de la cyanobactérie est moins affecté que celui de la diatomée qui est irréversiblement altéré aux forts éclairements et à la plus forte salinité; l’activité antioxydante n’a été détectée que sous l’éclairement le plus élevé et la synthèse des pigments caroténoïdes, qui sont des anti-oxydants non enzymatiques, est fortement activée surtout chez D.salina. La salinité et le niveau d’éclairement inter-réagissent sur la physiologie des trois espèces qui possèdent des mécanismes de résistance aux stress plus ou moins efficaces, d’où des résistances différentes aux contraintes du milieu selon les espèces. / The saltern of Sfax is a thalasso haline environment (salt medium supplied with sea water) plankton-rich despite the high salinity and the high light intensity. This richness is due to its physico-chemical characteristics. The STATICO analysis shows that nitrogen and phosphorus can influence the distribution of the phytoplankton in addition to salinity that dominates in this peculiar medium. Basing on this parameter, we could group the species according to their salt tolerance. To better understand the behavior of the phytoplankton, three autotrophic species Dunaliella salina (Chlorophyceae) Cylindrotheca closterium (diatom) and Phormidiumversicolor (Cyanophycea) were isolated, identified and grown in batch in artificialseawater in the presence of three NaCI concentrations and under three irradiations. Growth, photosynthesis and antioxidant enzyme activity were measured. The photosynthetic apparatus of the Chlorophyceae and the cyanobacteriumwas less affected than the diatom’s one that was irreversibly altered under high illumination and the highest salinity ; the antioxidant activity was only detected in cells grown under the highest irradiance and the synthesis of carotenoid pigments, that are non-enzymatic antioxidants,was strongly activated especially in D.salina. Salinity and light inter-reacted on the physiology of the three species that possess resistance mechanisms to stresses more or less effective, resulting in different resistance to environmental stresses depending on species.

Sous un climat tropical humide, l'augmentation de la température nocturne a été associée à une diminution du rendement chez le riz. Une des hypothèses sous-tendant cette diminution est l'augmentation du taux de respiration nocturne (Rn) diminuant les ressources carbonées disponibles pour la croissance de la plante. La respiration mitochondriale est communément divisée en deux composantes fonctionnelles :- la respiration de maintenance (Rm), qui est associée à toutes les réactions biochimiques requises pour entretenir la biomasse existante. Le taux de Rm doublerait suite à une augmentation de la température ambiante de 10°C (Q10 = 2) ;- la respiration de croissance (Rg), qui est associée à tous les processus impliqués dans la création de biomasse. Cette composante de la respiration est principalement dépendante de la disponibilité en carbohydrates dans la plante, et donc de la photosynthèse.Ce travail de thèse a pour objectifs de (1) déterminer l'effet instantané (sans acclimatation) et sur le long terme (acclimatation) de l'augmentation de la température nocturne, proche de celle prédite par les scénarios climatiques, sur la respiration et la production de biomasse et de grains, (2) évaluer le coût de Rn en terme de biomasse à l'échelle de la plante entière, (3) estimer la respiration de maintenance (Rm) et sa réponse à l'augmentation de la température, et (4) évaluer l'effet de la valeur Q10 sur la modélisation de la production en biomasse. Pour atteindre ces objectifs, trois expérimentations (dont une inexploitable) ont été conduites en serre, deux en chambres de culture et une au champ, à Montpellier (France) et à la station expérimentale de l'IRRI (International Rice Research Institute, Philippines). L'augmentation modérée de la température nocturne de 1.9°C au champ et 3.5°C en chambre de culture de l'initiation paniculaire à maturité, et de 3.8 à 5.4°C en serre du repiquage à maturité, a entraîné l'augmentation significative de Rn (+13 à +35%). Dans le même temps, cette augmentation n'a pas eu d'effet significatif sur la production de biomasse et de grains des écotypes indica et aus, mais la production en grains de l'écotype japonica a été significativement plus faible. Le coût en biomasse de la respiration, en conditions de température nocturne plus élevée, a augmenté légèrement mais n'a pas été associé à une variation significative de la production de biomasse. L'augmentation de la température nocturne sur le long terme (acclimatation) a eu un impact plus faible sur Rn (facteur de 1.14 à 1.67 entre 21 et 31°C) que l'augmentation instantanée (sans acclimatation) (facteur 2.4 entre 21 et 31°C). Le coût quotidien en biomasse de Rm, a été de 0.3 à 1.2% (feuilles complètement développées) et de 1.5 à 2.5% (plantules entières). La Rm a augmenté d'un facteur 1.49 entre 21 et 31°C et représentait environ 33% de la respiration nocturne. Ce facteur est plus faible que l'hypothèse du Q10 = 2 qui surestime les effets de l'augmentation des températures sur Rm.Le modèle d'analyse de sensibilité a montré que la valeur du coefficient Q10 a un rôle significatif dans la prédiction de la production de biomasse dans les modèles de culture. Le rendement simulé diminue de 9% (Q10 = 2) et de 5% (Q10 = 1.5) lorsque la température moyenne journalière augmente de 2°C. Ainsi, prendre en compte l'acclimatation dans la réponse des plantes à l'augmentation des températures est important pour augmenter la précision des modèles. L'augmentation de la précision des modèles passera aussi par l'analyse des variations de la respiration en conditions naturelles. / In tropical climate, increasing night temperature was reported to be associated with a decline in grain yield in rice. This can be partly due to an increase in night respiration rate (Rn) which causes a depletion of carbohydrate supply available for plant growth. Mitochondrial respiration is commonly divided in two functional components; - Maintenance respiration (Rm) which is associated with all biochemical reactions required to maintain existing biomass. The rate of this respiration component would double when ambient temperature increase by 10°C (Q10 = 2). - Growth respiration which is associated with all processes involved in establishment of new biomass. This respiration component is mainly driven by carbohydrate supply and thus, by the photosynthesis rate. The present work aims to (1) determine the effects of short-term (without acclimation) and long-term (with acclimation) increase in night temperature similar to that projected by future climate scenarios on vegetative biomass production and grain yield; (2) evaluate, in terms of loss of biomass, the cost of Rn at plant scale; (3) estimate the maintenance respiration rate (Rm) and its response to temperature; and (4) evaluate the impact of Q10 value on biomass production. To achieve these objectives, three experiments (one unexploitable) were conducted in greenhouses, two in growth chambers and one in the field, at Montpellier (France) or at the experimental station of IRRI (International Rice Research Institute). The moderate increase in night temperature from panicle initiation to maturity in the field by 1.9°C and in growth chambers by 3.5°C, and form transplanting to maturity in greenhouse experiments by 3.8 to 5.4°C, did affect significantly Rn that increased by 13 to 35%. In the same time, it did not affect significantly biomass production and grain yield for indica and aus cultivars, whereas grain production decline was observed for japonica. Calculated biomass losses due to increased Rn under increased night temperature were important but were not associated with a change in biomass production or grain yield. Effect of long-term exposure to increased night temperature (acclimation) was smaller (factor 1.14 to 1.67 between 21 to 31°C) than that of short-term exposure (without acclimation) (factor 2.4 between 21 to 31°C). In this work, 0.3 to 1.2% (expanded leaves) and 1.5 to 2.5% (whole seedlings) of existing dry biomass was lost daily to Rm. The Rn was composed by about 33% of Rm, which increased by factor 1.49 between 21 and 31°C. This is below the common assumption of Q10 = 2 that thus overestimates the effect of increasing night temperature on Rm.A model sensitivity analysis showed that the Q10 value is important in the prediction of biomass production in crop models. Yield is expected to decline by 9% (Q10 = 2 assumption) and by 5% (Q10 = 1.5 assumption) with increasing mean daily temperature by 2°C. Thus, taking into account the acclimation response to temperature change is important for models accuracy. Making crop models more accurate requires more knowledge thermal effect on respiration in the field.

Measurements of the energy balances and net photosynthesis rates of two low productivity coniferous forest canopies (12 and 22 years old), were made successfully during both wet and dry growing seasons, using a modified Bowen Ratio method. Canopy conductances (gc) were calculated from canopy evaporation rates (E) using the Penman-Monteith equation. A model was developed to predict canopy growth and evaporation rates from basic soil and weather data, and compared with the measured data. The photosynthesis model was physiologically based, derived from recent work of Farquhar and coworkers. The canopy conductance model used an empirical approach, based on simple relationships with recorded environmental variables, while canopy E was predicted from the Penman-Monteith equation. Findings were: (1) Daytime E and canopy net photosynthesis rates (Fc) were generally lower in the younger canopy. (2) In the old canopy, E was more strongly decoupled from net irradiance (Rn) and more dependent on the atmospheric vapour pressure deficit (D) in accordance with the predictions of McNaughton and Jarvis (1983). (3) In the old canopy, Fc was significantly reduced by low soil water potential (Ψs) within the range of soil water storages at which measurements were made, while gc was less dependent on Ψs. From consideration of changes in intercellular C0₂ concentration, gc was not found normally limiting to Fc. (4) No simple relationship was apparent between solar irradiance (S) and F at the canopy level. However highest Fc and canopy water use efficiency ratios occurred on cloudy days with low air temperature and low D. (5) Night-time Fc measurements indicated that canopy respiration rates are generally very high and hence air temperature was a major factor limiting overall forest productivity. (6) The computer model could predict gc from four variables (D, S, root-zone soil water storage, W and time since dawn, t) with reasonable 2 success (r² 0.75). However, on days when gc was low, due to high D, E was occasionally significantly in error, because the Penman-Monteith equation is more sensitive to gc when the latter is low. Best agreement between measured and modelled E occurred on cloudy days when D was low and gc consequently high. (7) Values for the maximum rates of carboxylation, as limited by foliar carboxylase activity and electron transport rate, were set at one third of those reported by Farquhar and coworkers, in order to obtain best overall agreement between measured and modelled data. This requirement indicated that poor nutrition was also limiting to stand productivity. (8) Model prediction of canopy net photosynthesis was not satisfactory (r² 0.50), attributed mainly to using too simple an approach to estimating irradiance at the individual leaf level, and partly to unexplained variation in the measurements of Fc. In spite of its limitations, the model was found to respond realistically to changes in weather and Ψs, suggesting the approach was valid, and might be more successful with further development. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

Photosynthetic organisms exhibit a variety of responses to changes in light intensity, including differential biosynthesis of chlorophyll-protein complexes. Cultures of Rhodobacter capsulatus grown anaerobically with a low intensity of light (2 W/m²) contained about four times as much B800-850 light harvesting complex as cells grown under high light intensity (140 W/m²). The mRNA transcripts encoding B800-850 beta and alpha peptides were analyzed by Northern blot, S1 nuclease protection and capping with guanylyl transferase. It was found that the steady-state levels of B800-850 mRNAs in high light-grown cultures was about four times as great as in cells grown under low light intensity. Therefore the lesser amounts of mature B800-850 peptide gene products found in cells grown with high light intensity were the result of a posttranscriptional regulatory process. It was also found that there were two polycistronic messages encoding the B800-850 peptides. These messages shared a common 3' terminus but differed in their 5' end segments as a result of transcription initiation at two discrete sites. Moreover the half life of B800-850 mRNAs was about 10 minutes in cells grown with high light and approximately 19 minutes in low light-grown cultures. Transcriptional and translational fusions were constructed between the B800-850 transcription initiation region (from this point on referred to as the puc transcription initiation region; see Fig. 1) and the Escherichia coli lacZ gene. From these studies it was concluded that the rates of transcription initiation of the puc (B800-850) genes was higher in cells grown with high light illumination than in low light-grown cultures, and that the relative amount of B800-850 complexes under these conditions was controlled by a translational or a posttranslational mechanism. The translational and transcriptional fusions were also used for examination of oxygen regulated expression of the puc genes. / Science, Faculty of / Microbiology and Immunology, Department of / Graduate

Orientador: Edson Eiji Matsura / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Agrícola / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-27T23:30:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Goncalves_IvoZution_D.pdf: 4952701 bytes, checksum: 4e065ef1f7385d70edc46718bed24722 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: O aumento da produção de cana-de-açúcar é diretamente influenciado pelo incremento na demanda de etanol, açúcar e biocombustível impulsionados pelo crescimento populacional, que acarreta a expansão do cultivo para regiões com baixos volumes precipitados, ou escassez de fontes hídricas para a prática da irrigação, que acaba afetando negativamente a produtividade da cultura. Dessa forma, o uso de fontes alternativas de água para irrigação é essencial para evitar perdas de rendimento devido a esta limitação. O esgoto doméstico tratado mostra-se como potencial recurso hídrico, podendo ser utilizado na cana-de-açúcar via irrigação, pois é uma fonte de nutrientes e água para a cultura, além de seu uso reduzir os impactos ambientais negativos gerados pelo lançamento no corpo receptor, e ainda manter as águas superficiais e subterrâneas para o abastecimento humano e a dessedentação animal. Sendo assim, o objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar o desenvolvimento vegetativo, a produtividade, os aspectos fisiológicos, os aspectos tecnológicos da matéria prima e a fertilidade do solo, durante a primeira e segunda soca de cultivos da cana-de-açúcar irrigada via gotejamento subsuperficial, instalado em diferentes profundidades, com aplicação de esgoto doméstico tratado. Foi montado um experimento em blocos casualizados com 5 tratamentos: sem irrigação (SI), irrigação com esgoto aplicado a 0,20 m de profundidade no perfil do solo (E20), esgoto a 0,40 m (E40), irrigação com água de reservatório superficial a 0,20 m no perfil do solo (A20) e água de reservatório a 0,40 m (A40), todos os tratamentos irrigados foram fertirrigados com base na marcha de absorção de nutrientes da cultura complementando a qualidade de água utilizada, enquanto o sem irrigação recebeu adubação convencional em cobertura. Para cada tratamento foi avaliado o desenvolvimento vegetativo, as trocas gasosas, clorofila a e b, potencial hídrico foliar, diagnóstico nutricional foliar e dos colmos, produtividade, exportação nutricional pelos colmos, análise tecnológica dos colmos e fertilidade do solo em cultivo da cana-de-açúcar na primeira e segunda soca. Os tratamentos irrigados apresentaram maior desenvolvimento vegetativo e produtividade nas duas socas, influenciados por maiores trocas gasosas, potencial hídrico foliar e umidade do solo. Pela maior produtividade de colmos, houve maior extração de nutrientes pelas parcelas irrigadas, acima do aporte de nutrientes ao solo, acarretando em redução da fertilidade do solo com os anos de cultivo. De modo geral, a qualidade tecnológica dos colmos foi adequada para todos os tratamentos e maior na segunda soca. A profundidade de instalação da fita gotejadora e qualidade da água aplicadas influenciaram nas concentrações de sódio no perfil do solo. Os tratamentos irrigados com esgoto também apresentaram, em ambas as socas, significativa economia em fertilizantes minerais. O esgoto doméstico tratado utilizado via irrigação não apresentou nenhum resultado negativo ao solo e a cultura no período analisado, em relação aos parâmetros avaliados, podendo ser utilizado como alternativa para a irrigação no cultivo da cana-de-açúcar / Abstract: The increase in the production of sugarcane is directly influenced by the increase in demand for ethanol, sugar and biofuel, and has been driven by population growth, resulting in the expansion of cultivated areas to regions where there are low volumes precipitated and even shortages of water sources for irrigation practice, thus negatively affecting crop productivity. Thus, the use of alternative sources for irrigation is essential to avoid yield loss due to this limitation. The treated sewage is shown as a potential water resource, can be used in sugarcane by irrigation, it is source of nutrients and water to the culture, and its use to reduce the negative environmental impacts generated by its launch water resources, and still keep the surface water and groundwater for human and animal consumption. Thus, the objective of this research was to evaluate the vegetative growth, the yield, the physiological, the technological aspects of raw material and soil fertility during the first and second ratoon via subsurface drip irrigated installed at different depths, with application of treated domestic sewage. An experiment was conducted in randomized blocks with 5 treatments: no irrigation (SI), irrigation with sewage applied to 0.20 m depth in the soil profile (E20), sewage 0.40 m (E40), irrigation with surface water reservoir to 0.20 m in the soil profile (A20) and water reservoir to 0.40 m (A40). All irrigated treatments received fertigation based on absorption of nutrients of the culture, supplementing the water quality used, while no irrigation received conventional fertilization. For each treatment was evaluated the vegetative growth, gas exchange, chlorophyll a and b, leaf water potential, nutritional diagnosis of leaves and stems, productivity, nutrient export by stems, technological quality analysis of stems and soil fertility in sugarcane from the first and second ratoon. The irrigated treatments showed higher vegetative growth and productivity in both ratoons, influenced by higher gas exchange, leaf water potential and soil moisture. By reason of the increased productivity of stalks, a greater nutrient uptake by irrigated plots above the supply of nutrients to the soil, resulting in reduction of soil fertility in the years of cultivation. In general, the technological quality of stems was adequate for all the treatments and higher in the second ratoon. The depth of drip tape installation and quality of applied water influenced the sodium concentrations in the soil profile. The treatments irrigated with sewage also showed in both ratoons, significant economies in mineral fertilizers. The treated domestic sewage used did not show any negative result to the soil and the crop in relation to the evaluated parameters and can be used as an alternative for irrigation in the cultivation of sugarcane / Doutorado / Agua e Solo / Doutor em Engenharia Agrícola