For its fragrance, showy display and multi-colors, tall bearded (TB) iris (Iris germanica L.) has great potential as a specialty cut flower. This study was conducted to investigate the optimum nutrient management, especially nitrogen (N), of reblooming TB iris 'Immortality'. The objectives were to investigate the effects of N rate and form and phosphorus (P) rate on growth, flowering, and nutrient uptake, and to assess seasonal changes in the composition of nitrogenous compounds and carbohydrates. In general, greater N rates increased plant height, leaf SPAD reading, the number of inflorescence stems, plant dry weight, plant N content, and uptake of other nutrients. Spring flowering was more dependent on N stored from the previous year. Second bloom was largely influenced by N rate in the year of flowering. In spring, N uptake efficiency quadratically related with increasing N rate and was highest in the 10 mM N treatment. Percentage of tissue N derived from spring fertilizer decreased with increasing N rate applied from previous year. In comparison with N rates, P rates did not affect most of growth and flowering performances, but had slight influences on concentration of few nutrients (such as P, potassium, and boron). Considering N:P ratios in plant tissues in this study were low, these results imply 5 mM P rate, the lowest P rate tested in this study, was sufficient for growth and development of reblooming TB iris. NH4:NO3 ratios did not affect plant height, flowering, dry weight, and N uptake, suggesting TB iris may not have preference for either ammonium or nitrate N. Higher NH4:NO3 ratios increased leachate pH, which might influence uptake of iron, manganese, and zinc. Nitrogen and carbon were predominately allocated to rhizomes in December and to leaves in May, suggesting a process of nutrient storage and remobilization happened in TB iris with seasonal changes. Concentration of starch, sucrose, glucose, and fructose showed seasonal changes, while concentration of free amino acids did not. Starch was the major form of storage carbohydrates in December. Glutamate, alanine, aspartate, serine, and tyrosine were main constituents among free amino acids.

Plants are surrounded by various threats from the environment such as pathogens, abiotic stresses, and animal attacks. Nutrient content and distribution are essential for plant growth and development as well as plant immunity. Pathogens extract nutrients from host plants to benefit their own growth and reproduction. Sulfate, amino acids, and phosphate are indispensable elements for plant growth, plant nutrition, and plant resistance/susceptibility to disease. However, the role of these nutrients in plant-oomycete interactions is an unexplored area. We developed a hydroponic system to precisely control the nutrients applied to plants. We used Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana benthamiana (N. b) as model plants. Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis as well as two Phytophthora species, Phytophothora capsici (P. cap) and Phytophothora nicotianae (P. nic) were used as model oomycete pathogens. Hpa is an obligate biotrophic pathogen that obtains nutrients directly from the host plant without causing cell death, while P. cap and P. nic are hemibiotrophic pathogens that display a biotrophic phase followed by a necrotrophic phase where they feed on dead cells. Genomic evidence suggests that these pathogens might obtain nutrients including sulfur in different forms from the host (organic and inorganic respectively). We have optimized the hydroponic system and used Taqman PCR assays and sporangiophore counts to assay the influence of sulfur nutrients on Hpa and P. cap infections. We found that (1) sulfur transporter and metabolism genes play essential roles in plant-oomycete interactions; (2) sulfur is critical components for HR responses against Hpa; (3) low sulfur induces pathogenesis related genes as a systemic acquired response. RNA-seq analysis on Phytophthora-infected Arabidopsis suggested that sulfur transport, assimilation, and metabolism play an important role in plant-oomycete interactions. A second project used RNA-seq analysis on P. nic infected N. b, to identify potential nutrition-related-plant genes that are necessary for full pathogen virulence. RNAi knockdowns of N. b AAP6 (amino acid permease 6) and PHT4 (phosphate transporter 4) genes showed an inhibition of oomycete colonization. These experiments together advance the study on the interplay between nutrient assimilation/metabolism in host plants and oomycete infection which will provide insight into the mechanisms how pathogens intercept nutrients from host. In the long-term, this research could reveal new traits applicable for disease resistance to promote crop and food production. / Doctor of Philosophy / Plants are surrounded by diverse threats from the environment such as pathogens, abiotic stresses, and animal attacks. Oomycetes are the most destructive group of pathogens, triggering severe food security issues. Phytophthora is an oomycete genus causing serious economic loss. Traditional disease control managements including pesticides, crop rotation and culture practices, are not time- or financially- efficient due to the difficulty in managing oomycete spread and oomycete resistance to chemicals. Thus, new plant genes for resistance to oomycete diseases would have a major impact. Plant nutrients are critically important for plant fitness in every aspect of plant growth and plant immunity. Cellular regulatory networks for sulfur, amino acids, and phosphate assimilation and metabolism networks connect to every aspect of plant activity such as functioning enzymes, formation of chlorophyll, synthesis of proteins, and plant immunity. These nutrients are part of the plant defense system but also can be beneficial nutrients fed to the invading pathogens. Studying how nutrients are involved in the responses to oomycete invasions will provide information to introduce resistance strategies into crops. We utilized oomycete pathogens with different lifestyles to study the interactions and found that some sulfate transporter genes, an amino acid transporter and a phosphate transporter might be manipulated by oomycete to obtain nutrients. Sufficient nutrition is a critical factor for successfully triggering plant immunity but also could be reprogrammed by pathogens for successful infection and development. Our studies gave useful information to understand which plant nutrient genes are important during plant–oomycete interactions. These findings could be useful in identifying or engineering new plant genes to control plant diseases.

Reindeer appear to have strong positive effects on plant productivity and nutrient cycling in strongly nutrient-limited ecosystems. While the direct effects of grazing on vegetation composition have been intensively studied, much less is known about the indirect effect of grazing on plant-soil interactions. This thesis investigated the indirect effects of ungulate grazing on arctic plant communities via soil nutrient availability and plant nutrient uptake. At high density, the deposition of dung alone increased plant productivity both in nutrient rich and nutrient poor tundra habitats without causing major changes in soil possesses. Plant community responses to dung addition was slow, with a delay of at least some years. By contrast, a 15N-urea tracer study revealed that nutrients from reindeer urine could be rapidly incorporated into arctic plant tissues. Soil and microbial N pools only sequestered small proportions of the tracer. This thesis therefore suggests a strong effect of dung and urine on plant productivity by directly providing nutrient-rich resources, rather than by stimulating soil microbial activities, N mineralization and ultimately increasing soil nutrient availability. Further, defoliation alone did not induce compensatory growth, but resulted in plants with higher nutrient contents. This grazing-induced increase in plant quality could drive the high N cycling in arctic secondary grasslands by providing litter of a better quality to the belowground system and thus increase organic matter decomposition and enhance soil nutrient availability. Finally, a 15N natural abundance study revealed that intense reindeer grazing influences how plants are taking up their nutrients and thus decreased plant N partitioning among coexisting plant species. Taken together these results demonstrate the central role of dung and urine and grazing-induced changes in plant quality for plant productivity. Soil nutrient concentrations alone do not reveal nutrient availability for plants since reindeer have a strong influence on how plants are taking up their nutrients. This thesis highlights that both direct and indirect effects of reindeer grazing are strong determinants of tundra ecosystem functioning. Therefore, their complex influence on the aboveground and belowground linkages should be integrated in future work on tundra ecosystem N dynamic.

Altitudinal gradients offer attractive opportunities for studies of population differentiation in response to environmental heterogeneity. In this thesis, I examined population differentiation along altitudinal gradients by combining common-garden experiments with field studies and experiments in alpine, subalpine and boreal populations of the perennial herb Solidago virgaurea. More specifically, I determined whether leaf physiology in terms of nitrogen concentration and resorption, flowering phenology, flower production and reproductive effort vary along altitudinal gradients. Nitrogen concentration in green leaves were higher in alpine than in subalpine and boreal populations. These differences persisted when plants were grown from seeds in a common-garden experiment at two sites, suggesting that the differences have a genetic component. There was mixed support for a trade-off between maximized carbon gain through the maintenance of high nitrogen concentration, and minimized nitrogen loss through high resorption. In their natural habitats alpine populations began flowering later than subalpine populations, but this difference was reversed when plants were grown in a common environment. This suggests that genetic differences among populations counteract environmental effects and reduce phenotypic variation in flowering time among populations. Flowering time thus shows countergradient genetic variation in S. virgaurea. In a common-garden experiment, boreal populations produced more flowers and had a higher reproductive effort than subalpine and alpine populations indicating habitat-specific genetic differences in reproductive allocation. In a field study, which included three populations, seed set was close to zero in the alpine population, intermediate in the subalpine population, and high in the boreal population. Experimental flower removal showed that seed production was associated with a considerable cost in terms of reduced flowering propensity the following year, but did not support the hypothesis that a large floral display is important for pollination success.

L'exsudation racinaire est connue pour avoir une influence sur le fonctionnement des communautés microbiennes, en particulier celles impliquées dans le cycle de l'azote (Haichar et al, 2012). Elle est liée à la physiologie de la plante, cette dernière pouvant être évaluée via les traits fonctionnels végétaux, permettant une classification des plantes en fonction de leur performance dans leur environnement. Ainsi, nous pouvons distinguer d'une part les espèces exploitatrices, avec une efficience de la photosynthèse élevée et une acquisition rapide de l'azote dans les sols, et d'autre part les plantes conservatrices, possédant des caractéristiques contraires (Aerts & Chapin, 1999) et des plantes intermédiaires dont les caractéristiques sont intermediaires.L'objectif de ces travaux de thèse est de déterminer l'influence de la stratégie de gestion des ressources de 6 poacées, réparties le long d'un gradient de stratégie de gestion des ressources, allant de stratégies conservatrices (Sesleria caerulea et Festuca paniculata), intermédiaires (Antoxanthum odoratum, Bromus erectus) à des stratégies exploitatrices (Dactylis glomerata et Trisetum flavescens), sur la diversité et le fonctionnement des communautés totales et dénitrifiantes. I) Dans un premier temps nous avons étudié le lien entre la stratégie de gestion de ressources des plantes et la quantité d'exsudats racinaires dans le sol adhérent aux racines (SAR). Nous avons ensuite déterminé l'influence de la quantité d'exsudats racinaire sur les activités microbiennes potentielles des communautés microbiennes du SAR (respiration et dénitrification potentielles), puis par une approche ADN-SIP (Stable Isotope Probing) couplée à du séquençage haut-débit, l'influence de l'exsudation racinaire sur la structure et la diversité des communautés bactérienne colonisant le SAR et le système racinaire. II) Dans un second temps, nous avons étudié le lien entre la stratégie de gestion des ressources des plantes et la nature des exsudats racinaires libérés au niveau du SAR et présents dans les extraits racinaires en analysant les profils des métabolites primaires chez Festuca paniculata, Bromus erectus et Dactylis glomerata, représentant respectivement des stratégies de gestion des ressources conservative, intermédiaire et exploitatrice / Root exudation is known to influence microbial communities functioning, in particular those involve in nitrogen cycle. (Haichar et al, 2012). It’s linked to plant physiology, which can be evaluated with functional traits, allowing a plant distribution in function of their performance in their environment. Thus, we can distinguish competitive species, with higher photosynthetic capacity and rapid rates of N acquisition, conservative species with the opposite characteristics (Aerts & Chapin, 1999) and intermediate plants, with intermediate characteristics.The objective of this work is to determinate the influence of nutrient management strategiy of 6 poaceae, along a strategies gradient from conservative strategy (Sesleria caerulea and Festuca paniculata), intermediate (Antoxanthum odoratum and Bromus erectus) to competitive strategy (Dactylis glomerata and Trisetum flavescens), on diversity and functioning of total and denitrifying communities.I) Firstly, we studied the link between the plant nutrient management strategy and the root exudates quantity in the root adhering soil (RAS). Then, we determined the influence of the rate of root exudation on potential microbial activities (respiration and denitrification), and with a DNA-SIP (Stable Isotope Probing) approach coupled to high-throughput sequencing, the influence of root exudation on the bacterial structure and diversity of communities colonizing the RAS and the root system. II) Secondly, we studied the link between the plant nutrient management strategy and the nature of molecules exuded in RAS and present in root extracts by analyzing primary metabolites profile to Festuca paniculata, Bromus erectus and Dactylis glomerata, respectively a conservative, an intermediate and a competitive plant. Then, we determined the influence of primary metabolites profile of each plant on semi-real denitrification of communities colonizing RAS of plants. III) Finally, an mRNA-SIP approach is in progress to determine the influence of exuded metabolites on active bacterial communities functioning and the expression of genes involved in denitrification process in RAS and root system. Our results show an influence of the nutrient management strategy on the rate of carbon exudation, the competitive plants exuding more than conservatives ones.