Currently, my research team of postdoctoral associates is investigating the molecular and biochemical bases of the interactions of crop plant photosynthesis with the rapid changes that are occurring in the atmosphere and on diverse strategies to improve photosynthetic efficiency.

Improving photosynthetic efficiency. The yield potential (Yp) of a grain crop is the seed mass per unit ground area obtained under optimum growing conditions without weeds, pests and diseases. It is determined by the product of the available light energy and by the genetically determined properties: the efficiency of light capture (Ei), the efficiency of the conversion of the intercepted light into biomass (Ec) and the proportion of biomass partitioned into grain (η). Plant breeding brings η and Ei for some crops close to their theoretical maxima, leaving Ec, primarily determined by photosynthesis, as the only remaining major prospect for improving Yp. Numerous potential routes of increasing Ec by improving photosynthetic efficiency are explored, ranging from altered canopy architecture to lower the energetic cost of photorespiration by engineering new pathways. Collectively and in combination, these changes could improve Ec and, therefore, Yp by more than 50%. Because some changes could be achieved by transgenic technology, the time of the development of commercial cultivars could be considerably less than by conventional breeding and potentially, within 10–15 years

Impacts of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide and tropospheric ozone on photosynthesis and productivity of soybean and corn. Corn and soybean fields are the largest ecosystem in the U.S., dominating the Midwest landscape. SoyFACE (http://www.soyface.uiuc.edu/), a unique open-air laboratory that uses fast-feedback control technology to treat large, fully-replicated areas with future CO2*, ozone, and soil moisture levels. This facility provides multi-user training and research on topics from soil microbes and gene expression to regional economies, C-cycling and crop yield. My research group and our collaborators are investigating the effects of atmospheric change on photosynthesis and crop yield, as well as the interaction of increased atmospheric CO2 and temperature.

Genomic ecology of global change. How ecosystems will respond to rapid changes in climate represents one of the great scientific challenges of this century. Human activities are altering the composition of our atmosphere (CO2 and O3), affecting the Earth’s climate system (leading to elevated temperature and water deficits) and introducing invasive species—thus altering the capacity of native and agro-ecosystems to provide critical goods and services including food, fiber, fuel as well as clean air and water. Though the phenomenology of ecosystem responses to elements of global change is receiving considerable attention, it has been predominantly limited to descriptive research at the level of the individual. Illinois has established the only facility worldwide for studying the simultaneous effects of rising carbon dioxide, ozone, and drought on plants under completely open-air conditions. We are therefore in a unique position to establish an internationally unique research program to examine the effects of global atmospheric change on the transcriptome and proteome of agro-ecosystems. The aim of the “Genomic Ecology of Global Change” research theme within the Carl R. Woese Institute of Genomic Biology is to produce the scientific foundation to use information obtainable at the level of genomes and proteomes of species and communities to predict the effect of environmental changes on the structure and function of ecosystems. Mathematical modeling and bioinformatics provide the conceptual foundation and data analysis tools for making sound scientific inference. To achieve this aim, we have assembled an interdisciplinary team of eight faculty spanning molecular to ecological research, within an overarching link of mathematical modeling and informatics.

Representative Publications

Slattery, R.A., Walker, B.J., Weber, A.P.M., and Ort, D.R. The impacts of fluctuating light on crop performance. Plant Physiol. 176:990-1003. 2018

Walker, B.J., Drewry, D.T., Slattery R.A., VanLoocke, A., Cho, Y.B., and Ort, D.R. Chlorophyll can be reduced in crop canopies with little penalty to photosynthesis. Plant Physiol. 176:1215-1232. 2018

Glowacka, K., Kromdijk, J., Kucera, K., Xie, J., Cavanagh, A., Leonelli, L., Leakey, A. Ort, D.R., Niyogi, K., Long, S.P. Photosystem II subunit S overexpression increases the efficiency of water use in a field-grown crop. Nature Commun. 9:868. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-03231-x 2018

Yuan, S., Ort, D.R., Chappell, J., Zhu, X-G., Ma, H., Kim, Y.K. Rerouting the photorespiration pathway in plants for increasing bioproduct yield. United States Patent US 10,106,826 B2 2018.

South, P.F., Cavanagh, A.P., Lopez-Calcagno, P.E., Raines, C.A. Raines, Ort, D.R. Optimizing photorespiration for improved crop productivity. J Integrative Plant Biology doi:[10.1111/jipb.12709] 2018

Locke, A.M., Slattery, R.A., and Ort, D.R. Field-grown soybean transcriptome shows diurnal patterns in photosynthesis-related processes. Plant Direct 2018. DOI: 10.1002/pld3.99 2018

Ruiz-Vera, U.M., Siebers, M.H., Jaiswal, D., Ort, D.R., Bernacchi, C.J. Canopy warming accelerates development in soybean and maize, offsetting the delay in soybean reproductive development by elevated CO2 concentrations. Plant Cell Environ. 41:2806-2820. 2018

South, P.F., Cavanagh, A.P., Lopez-Calcagno, P.E., Raines, C.A. Raines, Ort, D.R. Optimizing photorespiration for improved crop productivity. J Integrative Plant Biology doi:[10.1111/jipb.12709] 2018

Locke, A.M., Slattery, R.A., and Ort, D.R. Field-grown soybean transcriptome shows diurnal patterns in photosynthesis-related processes. Plant Direct 2018. DOI: 10.1002/pld3.99 2018

Ruiz-Vera, U.M., Siebers, M.H., Jaiswal, D., Ort, D.R., Bernacchi, C.J. Canopy warming accelerates development in soybean and maize, offsetting the delay in soybean reproductive development by elevated CO2 concentrations. Plant Cell Environ. 41:2806-2820. 2018

South, P.F., Cavanagh, A.P., Liu, H.W., Ort, D.R. Synthetic glycolate metabolism pathways stimulate crop growth and productivity in the field. Science 363: DOI: 10.1126/science.aat9077. 2019

Finely, J., Jaacks, L.M., Peters, D.J., Ort, D.R., Aimone, A.M., Conrad, Z., Raiten, D.J. Perspective: Understanding the intersection of climate/environmental change, health, agriculture, and improved nutrition – a case study: Type 2 diabetes. Adv Nut. 2019;0:1–0; doi: https://do 2019

DeLucia, E.H., Chen, S. Guan, K., Peng, B., Li, Y., Gomez-Casanovas, N., Kantola, I.B., Bernacci, C.J., Long, S.P., Ort, D.R. Are We Approaching a Water Ceiling to Maize Yields in the United States? Ecosphere DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2773 2019

Slattery, R.A., Ort, D.R. Carbon assimilation in crops at high temperatures. Plant Cell Environment doi.org/10.1111/pce.13572. 2019