Field-based Infrastructure For Phenomics of High Night Temperature

Stress Tolerance in Rice Germplasm

Cherryl Quiñones, Kharla V Mendez1, Wenceslao Larazo1, R Shea Harris1, Shannon S Cunningham1, Zachary C
Campbell1, Karina Medina-Jimenez1, Arlene Adviento-Borbe3, Harkamal Walia4 and Argelia Lorence1,2
Arkansas Biosciences Institute, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR; 2Department of Chemistry and Physics, P.O. Box 419, State University, AR, 72467 USA; 3Delta Water Management Research Unit,
1

United States Department Agriculture-ARS, P.O. Box 2, State University, AR 72467, USA; 4Department of Agronomy & Horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA.

Abstract High Tunnel Greenhouses are Empowering Stress Tolerance Field Studies
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the crops providing the most calories for people worldwide. The US is among the top global
exporters and Arkansas produces ~50% of all domestic rice. Rice production is highly affected by increasing global air
temperatures. High night temperature stress affects both rice yield and grain quality. The responses of rice to high night
temperature stress have been analyzed in a limited number of genotypes mostly under greenhouse conditions. One of the
challenges for implementing these studies under field conditions is the lack of high throughput phenotyping infrastructure. The
physiological and metabolic responses of rice to high night temperature stress under field conditions are not yet fully
elucidated, thus, further studies are needed. In this work, new infrastructure consisting of six high tunnel greenhouses fitted
Greenhouse
with sensors and heating systems were successfully established in a state-of-the-art field experimental station in Harrisburg, AR;
construction
310 rice accessions from the Rice Diversity Panel 1 (RDP1) and 10 hybrids from RiceTec were grown in each greenhouse
arranged in a randomized block design. During flowering, three of the greenhouses were successfully and uniformly heated at a b c
night for two weeks. Air temperature in the three heated greenhouses was 3-4 oC higher than that of the ambient temperature
controls as recorded with Raspberry Pi-powered systems. This temperature differential was confirmed with HOBO temperature
data loggers. These greenhouses were able to withstand harsh field conditions including constant flooding, strong rain, and 40-
50 mph winds. Analysis of yield data, seed quality assessment, and other biochemical assays are still ongoing to fully assess the
effects of high night air temperature stress in the RDP1 and hybrids of interest. These studies will lead to the identification of
novel markers that can be used by rice breeders and molecular biologists to develop rice varieties that are more resilient to heat Moving the
stress. greenhouses

Raspberry pi Powered Controllers Keep 4oC Differential in Treated Group

High Night Temperature Stress Lowers Rice Yield and Seed Quality
Rice productivity is highly challenged by climate change. A prominent feature of global climate is changes in
temperatures and rainfall that fluctuate widely over a period of time. The IPCC has projected an increase of global
mean surface air temperature of 1.5 to 4.5°C. In the past century, daily minimum night temperature increased at a
faster rate than daily maximum temperature in association with a steady increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas Heaters in action
concentrations. Peng et al. (2004) reported a decrease of 10% of grain yield for each 1°C increase in growing-season
minimum temperature in the dry season. Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve rice yield resilience to high
night temperature stress to ensure global food security. The responses of rice to high nighttime temperature stress Figure 3. (A) Building of high tunnel greenhouses, and moving them into the corresponding experimental plots. (B)
have been tested in few genotypes under controlled environments. The responses of different rice varieties under field Raspberry pi powered controllers maintained a 3-4oC differential between control and treated groups.
conditions has not yet fully elucidated due to lack of high throughput phenotyping resources, thus the importance of
this study.
Greenhouses Were Able to Withstand Flooding, Rain, and Strong Winds
The Rice Diversity Panel 1, A Powerful Resource for Stress Resilience Studies
A

A Figure 4. Temperature logged by raspberry pi controllers for 14 consecutive nights between 7:00 pm and 5:00 am. The
heat treatment started when 50% of the panel reached the flowering stage. Three high tunnel greenhouses were used
B C for ambient/control while three others were used for high nigh temperature treatment. Each high tunnel greenhouse
accommodated 320 accessions with 16 biological replicates for each accession.

Some RDP1 Accessions Displayed Tolerance to High Night Temperature Stress

A B C D
Figure 5. Phenotype of selected
Figure 1. (A) Rice Diversity Panel 1 accessions originated from different parts of the world. (B) Rice Diversity Panel 1 accessions of the Rice Diversity Panel 1
represent all five sub-populations of rice: indica, aus, tropical japonica, temperate japonica and group V (a.k.a. aromatic or subjected to high night temperature
basmati). (C) Phenotype of panicle of some accessions from the Rice Diversity Panel 1. Zhao et al. 2011. stress in the field. Sensitive accessions
displayed (A) long duration of
Field Layout and Planting maturity, (B) delayed reproductive
A E F G stage, (C) increased susceptibility to
Dirt road
B
pests and diseases, or (D) increased
empty grains per panicle. In contrast
C2 H3 C3 tolerant accessions displayed (E) novel
panicle architecture, (F) increased
grain count, or (G) increased number
Dirt road

C1 H1 H2 of panicles.

Switch Switch
box

GENERATOR
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Conclusions
• The high tunnel greenhouses are unique infrastructure that can accommodate a large number of rice accessions for
Dirt road
high night temperature stress experiments. The design is robust and was able to tolerate the flooded conditions that
Propane rice requires and the high winds that are typical in this area of the country.
gas
C • The Raspberry-Pi powered control system was effective at maintaining a 3-4oC temperature differential between the
control and heat tents even during unusually hot nights. This data was validated using the HOBO data loggers
installed in each plot. Temperature analysis indicates the high tunnel greenhouse are functional to conduct high night
temperature stress in rice diversity panels.
• Harvesting and sample processing for biomass has been completed while yield data collection is ongoing.

Future Directions
•Quantification of foliar ascorbate content and non-structural carbohydrates will follow.
•Additional measurements will also include grain chalkiness, grain milling quality, and field phenotyping using UAVs.
Figure 2. (A) Three plots were designated for heated greenhouses (H1, H2, H3) and three plots for control greenhouses
•Comparison of our results with those obtained by our collaborators at the University of Nebraska Lincoln and Kansas
(C1, C2, C3). All high tunnel greenhouses were connected to an electric generator to power Raspberry-Pi controls and fans,
State University will allow us to identify common tolerance mechanism between rice and wheat.
while heated greenhouses had in addition propane tanks. (B) Each greenhouse enclosed a 30 ft x 36 ft plot with 320 rice
•Ultimately this work will lead to the identification of novel genes and mechanisms to increase heat resilience in rice.
accessions. HOBO data loggers and soil water content sensors were equally distributed in each plot. (C) Manual seeding of
320 rice accessions.

Acknowledgements
This work is supported by the Wheat and Rice Center for Heat Resilience (WRCHR;
http://wrchr.org/) funded by NSF Award #1736192. We thank additional support
provided by the Arkansas Biosciences Institute and the USDA ARS Delta Water
Management Unit. We thank Abigail Wilkie, Hannah Seats, Aylin Villalpa-Arroyo,
Landon Perdue, Dax Hurst, Deshawn Cooney, Hayes Huff and the Four Seasons team
Rice Team for helping with greenhouse construction.
References
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Special Report. Climate Change and Land. IPCC, August 2019.
• Peng et al. (2004). Rice yields decline with higher night temperature from global warming. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101 (27): 9971-9975.
• Online resources of Arkansas Rice Council and United States Department of Agriculture.
• Zhao et al. (2011) Genome-wide association mapping reveals a rich genetic architecture of complex traits in Oryza sativa. Nat Commun
DOI:10.1038/ncomms1467.

Poster presented at Phenome 2020

Tucson, AZ, February 24-28, 2020