
Steven Michiel DrieverUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | UIUC · Institute for Genomic Biology
Steven Michiel Driever
PhD
About
77
Publications
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Introduction
My main research interest is the process of photosynthesis; how it works, interacts with the environment, in response to stresses and finally, how this process can be improved.
Additional affiliations
Education
January 2005 - November 2008
Publications
Publications (77)
Increasing photosynthesis in wheat has been identified as an approach to enhance crop yield, with manipulation of key genes
involved in electron transport and the Calvin cycle as one avenue currently being explored. However, natural variation in
photosynthetic capacity is a currently unexploited genetic resource for potential crop improvement. Usin...
Sustainably feeding the world’s growing population in future is a great challenge and can be achieved only by increasing yield
per unit land surface. Efficiency of light interception and biomass partitioning into harvestable parts (harvest index) has
been improved substantially via plant breeding in modern crops. The conversion efficiency of interc...
Electron flux from water via photosystem II (PSII) and PSI to oxygen (water-water cycle) may provide a mechanism for dissipation of excess excitation energy in leaves when CO(2) assimilation is restricted. Mass spectrometry was used to measure O(2) uptake and evolution together with CO(2) uptake in leaves of French bean and maize at CO(2) concentra...
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are involved in many signalling pathways and numerous stress responses in plants. Consequently, it is important to be able to identify and localize ROS in vivo to evaluate their roles in signalling. A number of probes that have a high affinity for specific ROS and that are effectively taken up by cells and tissues are...
Background and Aims
The Brassiceae tribe encompasses many economically important crops and exhibits high intraspecific and interspecific phenotypic variation. After a shared whole-genome triplication (WGT) event (Br-α, ~15.9 million years ago), differential lineage diversification and genomic changes contributed to an array of divergence in morphol...
Background and Aims
The Brassiceae tribe encompasses many economically important crops and exhibits high intraspecific and interspecific phenotypic variation. After a shared whole-genome triplication (WGT) event (Br-α, ~15.9 million years ago), differential lineage diversification and genomic changes contributed to an array of divergence in morphol...
Certain species in the Brassicaceae family exhibit high photosynthesis rates, potentially providing a valuable route toward improving agricultural productivity. However, factors contributing to their high photosynthesis rates are still unknown.
We compared Hirschfeldia incana, Brassica nigra, Brassica rapa and Arabidopsis thaliana, grown under two...
Background and Aims
Long-term exposure over several days to Far-Red (FR) increases leaf expansion, while short-term exposure (minutes) may enhance the PSII operating efficiency (ϕPSII). The interaction between these responses at different time scales, and their impact on photosynthesis at whole-plant level is not well understood. Our study aimed to...
The Brassiceae tribe encompasses many economically important crops and exhibits high intraspecific and interspecific phenotypic variation. After a shared whole-genome triplication (WGT) event (Br-α, ~15.9 million years ago), different lineages and species underwent differential chromosomal rearrangements (diploidization) leading to diverse patterns...
Oxygen is both product and substrate of photosynthesis and metabolism in plants, by oxygen evolution through water splitting and uptake by photorespiration and respiration. It is important to investigate these processes simultaneously in leaves, especially in response to environmental variables, such as light and temperature. To distinguish between...
Measurements of in vivo photosynthesis are powerful tools that probe the largest fluxes of carbon and energy in an illuminated leaf, but often the specific techniques used are so varied and specialized that it is difficult for researchers outside the field to select and perform the most useful assays for their research questions. The goal of this c...
Plants’ response to single environmental changes can be highly distinct from the response to multiple changes. The effects of a single environmental factor on wheat growth have been well documented. However, the interactive influences of multiple factors on different wheat genotypes need further investigation. Here, treatments of three important gr...
Gas exchange measurements enable mechanistic insights into the processes that underpin carbon and water fluxes in plant leaves which in turn inform understanding of related processes at a range of scales from individual cells to entire ecosytems. Given the importance of photosynthesis for the global climate discussion it is
important to (a) foster...
Maximal sunlight slowly varies over a day due to earth’s rotation. However, it is unknown whether this predictable daily light pattern influences the short-term regulation of non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) responses across the day. Diurnal variation in NPQ at growth light intensity, NPQ capacity and kinetics during and after 30-minute high light...
Improving photosynthetic efficiency has recently emerged as a promising way to increase crop production in a sustainable manner. While chloroplast size may affect photosynthetic efficiency in several ways, we aimed to explore whether chloroplast size manipulation can be a viable approach to improving photosynthetic performance.
Several tobacco (Nic...
In nature, light is never constant, while in the controlled environments used for vertical farming, in vitro propagation, or plant production for scientific research, light intensity is often kept constant during the photoperiod. To investigate the effects on plant growth of varying irradiance during the photoperiod, we grew Arabidopsis thaliana un...
Plant breeding for increased crop water use efficiency or drought stress resistance requires methods to quickly assess the transpiration rate (E) and stomatal conductance (gs) of a large number of individual plants. Several methods to measure E and gs exist, each of which has its own advantages and shortcomings. To add to this toolbox, we developed...
Mesophyll conductance (gm), the ease with which carbon dioxide can diffuse into and through plant cells, is a promising target for improving photosynthetic rates in plants. Barriers including cell walls, membranes, liquid phases and the anatomy and orientation of the cells and their subcellular organelles impose resistances on carbon dioxide diffus...
Plant breeding for increased crop water use efficiency or drought stress resistance requires methods to quickly assess the transpiration rate ( E ) and stomatal conductance ( g s ) of a large number of individual plants. Several methods to measure E and g s exist, each of which has its own drawbacks and shortcomings. To add to this toolbox, we deve...
Water deficit currently acts as one of the largest limiting factors for agricultural productivity worldwide. Additionally, limitation by water scarcity is projected to continue in the future with the further onset of effects of global climate change. As a result, it is critical to develop or breed for crops that have increased water-use efficiency...
Application of light-emitting diode technology has opened opportunities to optimize light spectrum for crop production greenhouses and vertical farms. In addition to photosynthetically active radiation, far-red (FR) light has shown potential for enhancing leaf photosynthesis. However, additional FR also alters the red to far-red ratio (R:FR) and in...
Climate change predictions foresee a combination of rising CO2, temperature and altered precipitation. Effects of single climatic variables are well defined, but the importance of combined variables and genotypic effects are less known, although pivotal for assessing climate change impacts, e.g. with crop growth models. This study provides developm...
Photosynthesis is currently measured using time laborious and/or destructive methods which slows research and breeding efforts to identify crop germplasm with higher photosynthetic capacities. We present a plot level screening tool for quantification of photosynthetic parameters and pigment contents that utilizes hyperspectral reflectance from sunl...
Accurate predictions of the timing of physiological stages and the development rate are crucial for predicting crop performance under field conditions. Plant development is controlled by the leaf appearance rate (LAR) and our understanding of how LAR responds to environmental factors is still limited. Here, we tested the hypothesis that carbon avai...
Measurements of in vivo photosynthesis are powerful tools that probe the largest fluxes of carbon and energy in an illuminated leaf, but often the specific techniques used are so varied and specialized that it is difficult for researchers outside the field to select and perform the most useful assays for their research questions. The goal of this c...
Oxygen is both product and substrate of photosynthesis and metabolism in plants, by oxygen evolution through water splitting and uptake by photorespiration and respiration. It is important to investigate these processes simultaneously in leaves, especially in response to environmental variables, such as light and temperature. To distinguish between...
We present a new simulation model of the reactions in the photosynthetic electron transport chain of C3 species. We show that including recent insights about the regulation of the thylakoid proton motive force, ATP/NADPH balancing mechanisms (cyclic and non-cyclic alternative electron transport), and regulation of Rubisco activity, leads to emergen...
A dynamic model of leaf CO2 assimilation was developed as an extension of the canonical steady-state model, by adding the effects of energy-dependent non-photochemical quenching (qE), chloroplast movement, photoinhibition, regulation of enzyme activity in the Calvin cycle, metabolite concentrations, and dynamic CO2 diffusion. The model was calibrat...
To meet the growing demand for food, substantial improvements in yields are needed. This is particularly the case for wheat, where global yield has stagnated in recent years. Increasing photosynthesis has been identified as a primary target to achieve yield improvements. To increase leaf photosynthesis in wheat, the level of the Calvin–Benson cycle...
The overall aim of this project is to take an integrated approach using the knowledge gained from empirical analyses of transgenic plants and in silico studies from both metabolic and transcriptional network modelling to produce plants with enhanced photosynthetic performance and increased yield. One of the major goals of this programme is to produ...
Improving photosynthesis is a major target for increasing crop yields and ensuring food security. Phenotyping of photosynthesis in the field is critical to understand the limits to crop performance in agricultural settings. Yet, detailed phenotyping of photosynthetic traits is relatively scarce in field-grown wheat, with previous studies focusing o...
A small bundle-sheath conductance (gbs) is essential for the C4 CO2-concentrating mechanism to suppress photorespiration effectively. To predict the productivity of C4 crops accurately under global warming, it is necessary to examine whether and how gbs responds to temperature. We investigated the temperature response of gbs in maize by fitting a C...
Arundo donax has attracted interest as a potential bioenergy crop due to a high apparent productivity. It uses C3 photosynthesis yet appears competitive with C4 grass biomass feedstock’s and grows in warm conditions where C4 species might be expected to be that productive. Despite this there has been no systematic study of leaf photosynthetic prope...
Growth inhibition is often a reason for growers to refresh the recirculation water and to discharge the excess water. The cause of growth inhibition other than a high concentration of sodium or a disease is usually unclear. Objectives of the study were the determination of the cause of growth inhibition and the development of methods to determine g...
Om de rentabiliteit van snij-amaryllis ( Hippeastrum ) te verbeteren is onderzoek uitgevoerd naar productieverhoging voor de kerstbloei. In een kas van 600 m2 is een teeltstrategie toegepast gericht op optimalisatie van de fotosynthese met verneveling en een diffuus schermdoek. De productie was vergelijkbaar tot iets hoger dan gemiddeld in de prakt...
Background
Carbon assimilation and leaf-to-fruit sugar transport are, along with plant water status, the driving mechanisms for fruit growth. An integrated comprehension of the plant water and carbon relationships is therefore essential to better understand water and dry matter accumulation. Variations in stem diameter result from an integrated res...
A crop growth model for sweet pepper was applied to simulate quantity and timing of fruit set and harvest. Climate input for the model was organised by means of online data platforms, linking directly to climate computer sensors. This information was processed and made available as model-input automatically via an ftp-server. Additionally, regular...
Commercial protected cultivation of shade-tolerant pot-plants in The Netherlands has expanded enormously in the last decade. Typically, very low daily light integrals are applied (3-5 mol PAR m-2 day-1), which are achieved by use of heavy screening and application of a layer of chalk (CaCO3) on the outside of the greenhouse to increase reflection o...
Semi-closed greenhouse management may increase greenhouse productivity. However, it relies on the application of mechanical cooling. Cooling can be applied from above or below the canopy. The positioning of the cooling affects the vertical climate profile in the canopy. In order to determine how this affects the vertical profile of transpiration an...
Relative changes in cell turgor of leaves of well-watered tomato plants were evaluated using the leaf patch clamp pressure probe (LPCP) under dynamic greenhouse climate conditions. LPCP changes, a measure for relative changes in cell turgor, were monitored at three different heights of transpiring and non-transpiring leaves of tomato plants on sunn...
Relative changes in cell turgor of leaves of well-watered tomato plants were evaluated using the leaf patch clamp pressure probe (LPCP) under dynamic greenhouse climate conditions. Leaf patch clamp pressure changes, a measure for relative changes in cell turgor, were monitored at three different heights of transpiring and non-transpiring leaves of...
Groeiremming is vaak een reden voor telers om het recirculatiewater te verversen en het overtollige water te lozen. Behalve een te hoog Na-gehalte of een optredende ziekte in het water is de oorzaak van groeiremming nog steeds onduidelijk. Doelstellingen van het uitgevoerde onderzoek waren het vaststellen van de oorzaak van groeiremming, voorstelle...
This Theme aims to produce novel wheat germplasm with superior photosynthetic efficiency,
superior photosynthetic capacity and hence higher anthesis biomass and yield potential (Parry et al.
2011). Improving photosynthesis is the cornerstone of the Wheat Yield Consortium (WYC) proposal
in that it aims to provide the elevated carbón “push” which the...
Referaat De sector is op zoek naar nieuwe gewasbescherming zoals “weerbaar telen”. De in de praktijk gebruikte middelen kunnen worden samengevat als compost, micro-organismen, organische extracten en meststoffen. Weerbaar telen biedt perspectief op basis van zowel de wetenschappelijke literatuur als praktijkervaringen van telers. Er wordt echter ni...
Water stress in plants affects a number of physiological processes such as photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance as well as the operating efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). Photochemical reflectance index (PRI) is reported to be sensitive to changes in xanthophyll cycle which occur during stress and could...
Om het zonlicht gedurende de dag en het seizoen zo efficiënt mogelijk te benutten en om de beschikbare hoeveelheid CO2 en energie zo goed mogelijk in te zetten, is het van belang continu te weten wat de status van een gewas is. Het meest geschikte proces om direct de effecten van klimaat te monitoren is de fotosynthese. Met de methoden die nu gebru...
Rapport beBestaand uit de volgende onderdelen: 1. Een kasproef, waarin het doel was de productie te verhogen door een combinatie van maatregelen; diffuus glas, verneveling en gewashandelingen 2. Praktijktoepassing en ontwikkeling van een plantmodel dat zetting voorspelt 3. Toetsing van een nieuwe methode om beschikbaarheid van assimilaten voor zett...
Tijdens het in dit rapport beschreven project is gekeken naar de effecten van belichting (met LED vs SON-T lampen) op de teeltresultaten van tomaten.
Teeltsturing in de potplantenteelt is van groot belang voor de teeltplanning en voor het kunnen afleveren van planten in de gewenste vorm en kwaliteit.
Alle instrumenten die telers tot hun beschikking hebben maken het sturen van een teelt beter mogelijk. De kennis over de groei van gewassen neemt toe. Het doorgronden van alle processen en hoe die op elkaar inwerken en de gevolgen daarvan wordt echter wel steeds moeilijker. Nieuwe kennis toepassen in zo’n complexe situatie is een uitdaging. Wagenin...
In een afdeling van het Improvement Centre is in 2008 een proef met Paprika uitgevoerd waarbij voor de conditionering van het kasklimaat koele lucht boven het gewas kon worden geblazen. De warmtewisselaars – beschikbaar gesteld en geïnstalleerd door Wilk van der Sande- zijn dicht bij de bodem gemonteerd onder de kasgoot en de lucht wordt door verti...
In een praktijkproef bij het Improvement Centre met de semi-gesloten teelt van paprika is de streefopbrengst van 35km/m² op een haar na gehaald, ondanks suboptimale omstandigheden in de eerste teeltfase. Koeling van bovenaf in combinatie met schermen bij hoge instraling geeft een homogeen klimaat en beperkt stress
In een experiment met Paprika is de teelt met veel en weinig luchtbevochtiging vergeleken samen met een volledig geconditioneerde kas met koeling en luchtbevochtiging. De klimaatregeling realiseerde goed de ingestelde waarden voor temperatuur en vocht. In de afdeling met zware bevochtiging is de temperatuur gemiddeld 0.15 oC hoger geweest dan in de...
Samenvatting In een praktijkproef met met LED belichting, zijn stuurlichteffect op paprika (ras Derby) niet onomstotelijk bewezen, want lichtkleur en lichtintensiteit waren gekoppeld. Echter, belichtingen met een laag intensiteit (blauw licht, 20 µmol/m2/s, en rood licht, 46 µmol/m2/s) suggereren wel een aantal stuurlicht effecten. Bij rood licht w...
The effect of high population densities on the growth rate of Lemna minor (L.) was studied under laboratory conditions at 23 °C in a medium with sufficient nutrients. At high population densities, we found a non-linear decreasing growth rate with increasing L. minor density. Above a L. minor biomass of ca. 180 g dry weight (DW) m−2, the net growth...