Justin McGrath
Graduate Research Assistant
1201 W. Gregory Dr.
147 ERML
MC-051
Urbana, IL
(217) 265-9884
E-mail Justin
Education
- B.S. Bradley University, Peoria,
IL 5/2004
Major: Biology, Preprofessional - Ph.D. - University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign expected 06/2009
Department: Plant Biology.
Research
-
How the dynamics of leaf growth
are altered by global atmospheric change are unknown, but may have important
feedbacks on canopy and ecosystem level carbon assimilation and productivity.
My research examines how leaf growth dynamics change in response to
elevated [CO2] and [O3]. Elevated [CO2]
and [O3] increase and decrease leaf area index respectively.
Elevated [CO2] seems to have an effect on both leaf size
and number, whereas elevated [O3] affects only leaf size.
However, there is some indication that elevated [O3] may
decrease leaf area index at the end of the season due to accelerated
leaf senscence.
At the cellular level, both elevated [CO2] and [O3] increases leaf extensibility, indicating that these gases have an effect on cell-wall composition. Cell-wall extensibility correlates positively with cell growth rate, so the effect of elevated [CO2] is consistent with expectations, but the increase of extensibility in elevated [O3] indicates that something else is limiting leaf growth.