Title of Work: Resistance to xylem cavitation in conifers as an indicator of drought tolerance

Abstract:

For my research project, I am working in the laboratory Biogeco (Biodiversity, Genes and Community), which focuses on plants and their ability to adapt to conditions induced by climate change, such as drought. I am conducting research on the resistance of various conifer species to xylem cavitation in a centrifuge.

In conifers, resistance to xylem cavitation indicates their ability to survive in drought conditions. Xylem cavitation is when embolisms form in the xylem and block the flow of water through the plant. In the lab, we use centrifuges, in which branches are spun rapidly, causing air embolisms to form in their xylems. Their resistance is measured using the p50, which is the time it takes the branch to reach 50% loss of conductance. I have been analyzing our data using the program R, in which I can compare and graph the differences in p50 values across the different species.

Because we are gathering branches from around the world, I hope to use this research to determine the degree to which environment determines resistance to xylem cavitation. I will thus be able to determine which regions of the world would be most affected by drought.

Title of Work (IGP Language): La résistance de la cavitation xylème chez les conifères comme indice de leur tolérance contre la sécheresse

Abstract (IGP Language):

Pour mon projet, je travaille à Biogeco (Biodiversité, Gènes, et Communauté), un laboratoire où les plantes sont étudiées, ainsi que leur capacité de s’adapter aux conditions venantes du changement climatique, comme la sécheresse. Là, je fais de la recherche sur la résistance des espèces de conifères contre la cavitation xylème dans une centrifugeuse.

Chez les conifères, la résistance contre la cavitation xylème indique leur capacité de survivre dans les conditions de sécheresse. La cavitation xylème est quand les embolismes se produisent dans le xylème et bloquent le flux de l’eau dans la plante. Dans le laboratoire, nous utilisons les centrifugeuses pour tourner les branches, pour que les embolismes se produisent dans les xylèmes. La résistance est mesurée en utilisant le p50, qui est le temps qu’il faut pour la branche d’atteindre une perte de conductance de 50 %. J’analyse nos données avec le programme « R, » avec lequel je peux comparer et tracer les différences des p50s chez les espèces différentes.

Puisque nos branches viennent de partout dans le monde, j’espère utiliser cette recherche de déterminer l’effet de l’environnement en déterminant la résistance contre la cavitation xylème. Donc, je pourrai déterminer quelles régions du monde seraient les plus affectées par la sécheresse.

Elevator Pitch Video

Elevator Pitch Transcript:

Bonjour tout le monde ! Je m'appelle Cayley et j'étudie la biologie et le français. Hi everybody, my name is Cayley Payne. I am studying biology and French, and I am in my 5th year of IGP. I am currently studying at the University of Bordeaux in France where I'm finishing up the final year of my bachelor's degree, as well as completing an internship. I have been absolutely loving Bordeaux so far. It is a beautiful city. It is in my opinion, one of the prettiest cities in France. It is known as the wine capital of the world. Behind me, you can see le Grand Théâtre, which is one of the famous old theaters in Bordeaux. Like I said, Bordeaux is one of the most beautiful cities in France. You can see some of the photos I've taken here. It is known as the wine capital of the world, and it even has a wine museum called la Cité du Vin, which is an interactive exhibit on wine, how it's made and the different types of wine across the world.

Last year (semester), I took classes at the University of Bordeaux and got used to life here in France. This semester, I am continuing to take classes as part of NAU's new dual degree program, as well as completing an internship with Biogeco.

I am interning at Biogeco, which is a laboratory on campus that specializes in plants and studying how they react to various environmental stressors. My personal research is being conducted in conifer species. We gather various branches of conifer species from around the world. What I do is I test these species' ability to resist to xylem cavitation, which is when air embolisms form in the xylem as a result of water stress. This indicates their ability to survive in drought conditions.

What we do, is we induce water stress in the branches using a cavitron, which is basically a high-powered centrifuge, which you can see in the bottom right corner. The cavitron is connected to our desktop computers, and there we use the program Cavisoft to measure the p50 of each sample, which indicates to us the time it takes for the branch to cavitate 50%, so to lost 50% of its water conductance. The longer it takes to reach the p50, the more resistant they are.

This is a great internship for me, because in the future I hope to continue to do environmental research and figure out which plants will be more resistant to the effects of climate change. This internship has been a really great step in the door.

Full-Length Video Presentation

Full-Length Video Transcript: