Research output per year
Research output per year
PhD, 1974, Michigan State University
Molecular and biochemical basis for environmental effects on photosynthesis, photosynthetic energy transduction
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.
Charles F. Kettering Award
American Society of Plant Biologists
Fellow American Society of Plant Biologists
Fellow American Association for the Advancement of Science
Distinguished Professor Fellowship
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Science Hall of Fame
USDA Agricultural Research Service
2015, 2016, 2018Most Highly Cited Researcher in Plant and Animal Science
Institute for Scientific Information
Elected Member National Academy of Sciences
217-333-2093
1206 W. Gregory Dr.
Urbana IL. 61801
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Jaikumar, N. S. (Creator), Fernandes, S. (Creator), Leakey, A. (Creator), Brown, P. J. (Creator), Stutz, S. (Creator), Ort, D. R. (Creator) & Long, S. P. (Creator), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Mar 8 2021
DOI: 10.13012/B2IDB-4580996_V2
Dataset
Kole Aspray, E. (Creator), Ainsworth, E. (Creator), McGrath, J. (Creator), McGrath, J. (Creator), Montes, C. (Creator), Whetten, A. (Creator), Ort, D. R. (Creator), Long, S. P. (Creator), Puthuval, K. (Creator), Mies, T. (Creator), Bernacchi, C. (Creator), Delucia, E. H. (Creator), Dalsing, B. (Creator), Leakey, A. (Creator), Li, S. (Creator), Herriott, J. (Creator) & Miglietta, F. (Creator), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Feb 7 2023
DOI: 10.13012/B2IDB-3496460_V2
Dataset
Elizabeth Ainsworth, Brent W Roberts, Donald Richard Ort, Atul Jain, Arend van der Zande, Kaiyu Guan, Jennifer A Lewis & Axel Friedrich Hoffmann
11/15/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Press / Media
Evan H Delucia, Kaiyu Guan, Carl Bernacchi, Stephen P Long & Donald Richard Ort
6/18/19
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research