Bluestem transcription profiles - Konza 2005

We measured transcriptional profiles of individuals of Andropogon gerardii, a C4 grass native to North American grasslands, in a field experiment in which both temperature and precipitation have been manipulated to simulate key aspects of forecasted climate change. By using microarrays developed for a closely related model species, Zea mays, we were able to compare the relative influence of warming versus altered soil moisture availability on expression levels of over 7,000 genes. The plants were located in 12 experimental plots under rainout shelters on the Konza Prairie Biological Station in Manhattan, Kansas.