Data from: Monitoring of plant-environment interactions by high throughput FTIR spectroscopy of pollen

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy enables chemical analysis
of pollen samples for plant phenotyping to study plant–environment
interactions, such as influence of climate change or pathogens. However,
current approach, such as microspectroscopy and attenuated total
reflection spectroscopy, does not allow for high-throughput protocols.
This study at hand suggests a new spectroscopic method for high-throughput
characterization of pollen. Samples were measured as thin films of pollen
fragments using a Bruker FTIR spectrometer with a high-throughput
eXTension (HTS-XT) unit employing 384-well plates. In total, 146 pollen
samples, belonging to 31 different pollen species of Fagaceae and
Betulaceae and collected during three consecutive years (2012–2014) at
locations in Croatia, Germany and Norway, were analysed. Critical steps in
the sample preparation and measurement, such as variabilities between
technical replicates, between microplates and between spectrometers, were
studied. Measurement variations due to sample preparation, microplate
holders and instrumentation were low, and thus allowed differentiation of
samples with respect to phylogeny and biogeography. The spectral
variability for a range of Fagales species (Fagus, Quercus, Betula,
Corylus, Alnus and Ostrya) showed high-species-specific differences in
pollen's chemical composition due to either location or year.
Statistically significant inter-annual and locational differences in the
pollen spectra indicate that pollen chemical composition has high
phenotypic plasticity and is influenced by local climate conditions. The
variations in composition are connected to lipids, proteins, carbohydrates
and sporopollenins that play crucial roles in cold and desiccation
tolerance, protection against UV radiation and as material and energy
reserves. The results of this study demonstrate the value of
high-throughput FTIR approach for the systematic collection of data on
ecosystems. The novel FTIR approach offers fast, reliable and economical
screening of large number of samples by semi-automated methodology. The
high-throughput approach could provide crucial understanding on
plant–climate interactions with respect to biochemical variation within
genera, species and populations.