Full publication list available on Google Scholar.
2026
Lamour J, Serbin SP, Rogers A, Acebron KT, Ainsworth E, et al. (84 authors) (2026) A global spectra-trait initiative: a database of paired leaf spectroscopy and functional traits associated with leaf photosynthetic capacity. Earth System Science Data 18, 245-265.
Wang X, Guan K, Wang S, Bailey BN, Ainsworth EA, Jiang Z, Li K (2026) Impact of vertical and seasonal variation in leaf traits on simulating soybean canopy photosynthesis via 1D and 3D modeling. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 377, 110941.
Tamang BG, Diers BW, Ainsworth EA (2026) Registration of four soybean lines in a common genetic background with contrasting leaf shape. Journal of Plant Registrations, accepted.
Tamang BG, Bernard G, Bernacchi CJ, Diers BW, Ainsworth EA (2026) Bigger is not always better: optimizing leaf area index with narrow leaf shape in soybean. Plant Physiology kiaf663.
2025
Long SP, Wang Y, Carmo-Silva E, Cavanagh AP, Jonikas MC, Kromdijk J, Long BM, Marshall-Colon A, Shukla D, Wilson RH, Zhu X-G, Ainsworth EA (2025) Feeding from the sun – successes and prospects in bioengineering photosynthesis for food security. Cell 166, 6700-6719.
Yusara A, Kato T, Ainsworth EA, Battisti R, Kumagai E, Nakano S, Wu Y, Tsusumi-Morita Y, Kobayashi K, Masutomi Y (2025) Developing an eco-physiological process-based model of soybean growth and yield (MATCRO-Soy v.1): model calibration and evaluation. Geoscientific Model Development 18, 8801-8826.
Parkash V, Snider JL, Montes CM, Ainsworth EA, Sanz-Saez A (2025) Hyperspectral reflectance-based partial least squares regression models for predicting cotton leaf physiological traits. The Plant Phenome Journal 8, e70042.
Fan Y, Noble DWA, Medlyn BE, Monson RE, Sage RF, Smith NGS, Ainsworth EA, et al. (2025) Environmental factors have a greater influence on photosynthetic capacity in C4 plants than biological factors. New Phytologist 248, 1205-1224.
Kaur R, Durstock M, Prior SA, Runion GB, Ainsworth EA, Baxter I, Sanz-Saez A, Leisner CP (2025) Investigating the impact of elevated CO2 on biomass accumulation and mineral concentration in foliar and edible tissues in soybeans. Plant, Cell & Environment 48, 8712-8726.
Martin DG, Aspray EK, Li S, Leakey ADB, Ainsworth EA (2025) Drought does not mitigate reductions in soybean photosynthesis and yield caused by elevated ozone. Plant Physiology 199, kiaf350.
Ojeda-Rivera JO, Barnes AC, Ainsworth EA, + 53 others (2025) Designing a nitrogen efficient cold tolerant maize for modern agricultural systems. Plant Cell 37, koaf139.
Griesbaum K, Marquez IS, Clark LV, Ainsworth EA, Christian N, Heath KD (2024) Dominant foliar endophytes influence soybean yield, physiology and transriptome. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 101, fiaf053.
Monson RK, Li S, Ainsworth EA, Fan Y, Hodge JG, Knapp AK, Leakey ADB, Lombardozzi D, Reed SC, Sage RF, Smith MD, Smith NG, Still CJ, Way DA (2025) C4 photosynthesis, trait spectra and the fast-efficient phenotype. New Phytologist, DOI10.1111/nph.70057.
Ainsworth EA, Sanz-Saez A, Leisner CP (2025) Crops and rising atmospheric CO2 – friends or foes? Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 380: 20240230.
Gao L, Guan K, Jiang C, Lu X, Wang S, Ainsworth EA, Wu X, Chen M (2025) Incorporating environmental stress improves estimation of photosynthesis from NIRvP in US Great Plains pasturelands and Midwest croplands. Remote Sensing of Environment 316, 114516.
2024
Hui J, You H, Van Beek A, Zhang J, Elahi A, Downing JR, Chaney LE, Lee DK, Ainsworth EA, Chaudhuri S, Dunn J, Chen W, Rowan S, Hersam MC (2024) Biorenewable exfoliation of electronic-grade printable graphene using carboxylated cellulose nanocrystals. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 16, 57534-57543.
You H, Hui J, Zhou Y, Vittore K, Zhang J, Chaney LE, Chinta S, Zhao Y, Lee DK, Ainsworth EA, Dunn JB, Hersam MC, Rowan SJ (2024) Sustainable production of biomass-derived graphite and graphene conductive inks from biochar. Small 20, 2406669.
Pu H, Zhang J, Liang C, Hersam M, Rowan S, Chen W, Chaudhuri S, Ainsworth EA, Lee DK, Claussen J, Chen Y, Willett R, Dunn JB, Chen J (2024) Sustainable manufacturing paradigm to address grand challenges of sustainability and climate change. ACS Sustainable Resource Management 11, 2334-2337.
Ancín M, Gámez AL, Jauregui I, Galmes J, Sharwood RE, Erice G, Ainsworth EA, Tissue DT, Sanz-Sáez A, Aranjuelo I (2024) Does the response of Rubisco and photosynthesis to elevated [CO2] change with unfavourable environmental conditions? Journal of Experimental Botany erae379. doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erae379
Li S, Montes CM, Aspray EK, Ainsworth EA (2024) How do drought and heat affect the response of soybean seed yield to elevated O3? An analysis of 15 seasons of free-air O3 concentration enrichment (O3-FACE) studies. Global Change Biology 30: e17500.
Gao L, Guan K, He L, Jiang C, Wu X, Lu X, Ainsworth EA (2024) Tropospheric ozone pollution increases the sensitivity of plant production to vapor pressure deficit across diverse ecosystems in the Northern Hemisphere. Science of the Total Environment 951: 175748.
Miner G, Stewart CE, Delgado JA, Ippolito JA, Mason RE, Haley SD, Guttieri MJ, Ainsworth EA, McGrath JM, Beebout SJ (2024) Global change impacts on mineral nutritional quality of cereal grains: coordinated datasets and analyses to advance a systems-based understanding. Field Crops Research 310: 109338.
Guarin JR, Jägermeyr, J, Ainsworth EA, Oliveira FAA, Asseng S, Boote K, Elliott J, Emberson L, Foster I, Hoogenboom G, Kelly D, Ruane AC, Sharps K (2024) Modeling the effects of tropospheric ozone on the growth and yield of global staple crops with DSSAT v4.8.0. Geoscientific Model Development 17: 2547-2567.
Digrado A, Montes CM, Baxter I, Ainsworth EA (2024) Seed quality under elevated CO2 differs in soybean cultivars with contrasting yield responses. Global Change Biology 30: e17170.
Busch FA, Ainsworth EA, Amtmann A, Cavanagh AP, Driever SM, Ferguson JN, Kromdijk J, Lawson T, Leakey ADB, Matthews JSA, Meacham-Hensold K, Vath RL, Vialet-Chabrand S, Walker BJ, Papanatsiou M (2024) A guide to photosynthetic gas exchange measurements: fundamental principles, best practice and potential pitfalls. Plant, Cell & Environment 47, 3344-3364.
Wu G, Guan K, Ainsworth EA, Martin DG, Kimm H, Yang X (2024) Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence captures the effects of elevated ozone on canopy structure and acceleration of senescence in soybean. Journal of Experimental Botany 75, 350-363.
2023
Li S, Leakey ADB, Moller CA, Montes CM, Sacks EJ, Lee DK, Ainsworth EA (2023) Similar photosynthetic, but different yield responses of C3 and C4 crops to elevated O3. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 120, e2313591120
Wu G, Guan K, Ainsworth EA, Martin DG, Kimm H, Yang X (2023) Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence captures the effects of elevated ozone on canopy structure and acceleration of senescence in soybean. Journal of Experimental Botany, erad356.
Aspray EK, Mies TA, McGrath JA, Montes CM, Dalsing B, Puthuval KK, Whetten A, Herriott J, Li S, Bernacchi CJ, DeLucia EH, Leakey ADB, Long SP, McGrath JM, Miglietta F, Ort DR, Ainsworth EA (2023) Two decades of fumigation data from the Soybean Free Air Concentration Enrichment facility. Scientific Data 10, 226.
Burroughs CH, Montes CM, Moller CA, Mitchell NG, Michael AM, Peng B, Kimm H, Pederson T, Lipka AE, Bernacchi CJ, Guan K, Ainsworth EA (2023) Reductions in leaf area index, pod production, seed size, and harvest index drive yield loss to high temperatures in soybean. Journal of Experimental Botany 74, 1629-1641.
Before 2023
2022
Tamang BG, Zhang Y, Zambrano M, Ainsworth EA (2022) Anatomical determinants of gas exchange and hydraulics vary with leaf shape in soybean. Annals of Botany, mcac118.
Li S, Moller CA, Mitchell NG, Martin DG, Sacks EJ, Saikia S, Labonte NR, Baldwin BS, Morrison JI, Ferguson JN, Leakey ADB, Ainsworth EA (2022) The leaf economics spectrum of triploid and tetraploid C4 grass Miscanthus x giganteus. Plant, Cell & Environment 45, 3462-3475.
Montes CM, Fox C, Sanz-Sáez A, Serbin SP, Kumagai E, Krause MD, Xavier A, Specht JE, Beavis WD, Bernacchi CJ, Diers BW, Ainsworth EA (2022) High-throughput characterization, correlation, and mapping of leaf photosynthetic and functional traits in the soybean (Glycine max) nested association mapping population. Genetics 221, iyac065.
Digrado A, Gonzalez-Escobar E, Owston N, Page R, Mohammed SB, Umar ML, Boukar O, Ainsworth EA, Carmo-Silva E (2022) Cowpea leaf width correlates with aboveground biomass across diverse environments. Legume Science, doi.org/10.1002/leg3.144.
Li S, Moller CA, Mitchell NG, Lee DK, Sacks DJ, Ainsworth EA (2022) Testing unified theories for ozone response in C4 grasses. Global Change Biology 28: 3379-3393, doi: 10.1111/gcb.16108.
Montes CM, Demler H, Li S, Martin D, Ainsworth EA (2022) Approaches to investigate crop responses to ozone pollution: from O3-FACE to satellite-enabled modeling. Plant Journal 109: 432–446.
Umburanas RC, Kawakami J, Ainsworth EA, Favarin JL, Anderle LZ, Dourado-Neto D, Reichardt K (2022) Changes in soybean cultivars released over the past 50 years in southern Brazil. Scientific Reports 12: 508.
Fu, P, Montes CM, Siebers MH, Gomez-Casanovas N, McGrath JM, Ainsworth EA, Bernacchi CJ (2022) Advances in field-based high-throughput photosynthetic phenotyping. Journal of Experimental Botany 73, 3157-3172.
2021
Zhou W, Guan K, Peng B, Wang Z, Li B, Fu R, Ainsworth EA, DeLucia E, Zhao L, Chen Z (2021) A generic risk assessment framework to evaluate historical and future climate-induced risk for rainfed corn and soybean yield in the U.S. Midwest. Weather and Climate Extremes 33, 100369.
Xia L, Lam SK, Kiese R, Chen D, Luo Y, van Groenigen KJ, Ainsworth EA, Liu S, Ma L, Zhu Y, Butterbach-Bahl K (2021) Elevated CO2 negates O3 impacts on terrestrial carbon and nitrogen pools and fluxes. One Earth 4: 1752-1763.
Dhaliwal DS, Ainsworth EA, Williams M (2021) Historical trends in sweet corn plant density tolerance using era hybrids (1930–2010s). Frontiers in Plant Science 12: 707852.
Wedow JM, Ainsworth EA, Li S (2021) Plant biochemistry influences tropospheric ozone formation, destruction, deposition and response. Trends in Biochemical Sciences 46: 992-1002.
Kimm H, Guan K, Burroughs CH, Peng B, Ainsworth EA, Bernacchi CJ, Moore CE, Kumagai E, Yang X, Berry JA, Wu G (2021) Quantifying high-temperature stress on soybean canopy photosynthesis: the unique role of sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence. Global Change Biology 27, 2403-2415.
Christian N, Basurto BE, Toussaint A, Xu X, Ainsworth EA, Busby PE, Heath KD (2021) Elevated CO2 reduces a dominant soybean leaf endophyte. Global Change Biology 27: 4154–4168.
Wedow JM, Burroughs C, Rios Acosta L, Leakey ADB, Ainsworth EA (2021) Age-dependent increase in a-tocopherol and phytosterols in maize leaves exposed to elevated ozone pollution. Plant Direct 5, e00307.
Li S, Moller CA, Mitchell NG, Lee DK, Ainsworth EA (2021) Bioenergy sorghum maintains photosynthetic capacity in elevated ozone concentrations. Plant, Cell & Environment 44: 729-746.
Ainsworth EA, Long SP (2021) 30 years of Free Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE): what have we learned about future crop productivity and the potential for adaptation? Global Change Biology 27: 27-49.
Wang S, Guan K, Wang Z, Ainsworth EA, Zheng T, Townsend PA, Li K, Moller C, Wu G, Jiang C (2021) Unique contributions of chlorophyll and nitrogen to predict crop photosynthetic capacity from leaf spectroscopy. Journal of Experimental Botany 72: 341-354.
2020
Leung FPK, Williams K, Sitch S, Tai APK, Wiltshire A, Gornall J, Ainsworth EA, Arkebauer T, Scoby D (2020) Calibrating soybean parameters in JULES from the US-Ne2/3 FLUXNET sites and the SoyFACE-O3 experiment. Geoscientific Model Development 13, 6201-6213.
Choquette NE, Ainsworth EA, Bezodis W, Cavanagh AP (2020) Ozone tolerant maize hybrids maintain Rubisco content and activity during long‐term exposure in the field. Plant Cell & Environment 43, 3033-3047.
Digrado A, Mitchell N, Dirvanskyte P, Ainsworth EA (2020) Assessing diversity in canopy architecture, photosynthesis and water-use efficiency in the cowpea MAGIC population. Food & Energy Security 9, e236.
Lombardozzi DL, Lu Y, Lawrence P, Lawrence DM, Swenson S, Oleson KW, Wieder WR, Ainsworth EA (2020) Simulating agriculture in the Community Land Model version 5. JGR-Biogeosciences125, e2019JG005529.
Peng B, Guan K, Ainsworth EA, Assent S, Bernacchi CJ, et al. (2020) Advancing multi-scale crop modeling for agricultural climate change adaptation assessment. Nature Plants 6, 338-348.
Meacham-Hensold K, Fu P, Wu J, Serbin S, Montes CM, Ainsworth EA, Guan K, Dracup E, Pederson T, Driever SM, Bernacchi CJ (2020) Plot level rapid screening for photosynthetic parameters using proximal hyperspectral imaging. Journal of Experimental Botany 71, 2312-2328
2019
Bailey-Serres J, Parker JE, Ainsworth EA, Oldroyd GED, Schroeder JI (2019) Enhancing crop resilience to climate change: genetic and genomic advances and future challenges. Nature 575, 109-118.
Choquette NE, Ogut F, Wertin TM, Montes CM, Sorgini CA, Morse AM, Brown PJ, Leakey ADB, McIntyre LM, Ainsworth EA (2019) Uncovering hidden genetic variation in photosynthesis of field-grown maize under ozone pollution. Global Change Biology, DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14794.
Sorgini CA, Barrios-Perez I, Brown PJ, Ainsworth EA (2019) Mapping oxidative stress response QTL in B73-Mo17 nearly isogenic lines. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2019.00051.
Li S, Courbet G, Ourry A, Ainsworth EA (2019) Elevated ozone concentration reduces photosynthetic carbon gain but does not alter leaf structural traits, nutrient composition or whole plant biomass in switchgrass. Plants 8, 85.
Wedow JM, Yendrek CR, Mello TR, Creste S, Martinez CA, Ainsworth EA (2019) Metabolite and transcript profiling of Guinea grass (Panicum maximum Jacq) response to elevated [CO2] and temperature. Metabolomics 15:51.
Ainsworth EA, Lemonnier P, Wedow JM (2019) The influence of rising tropospheric carbon dioxide and ozone on plant productivity. Plant Biology, DOI:10.1111/plb.12973.
2018
Emberson LD, Pleijel H, Ainsworth EA, van den Berg M, Wei R, Osborne S, Mills G, Pandey D, Dentener F, Büker P, Ewert F, Koeble R, Van Dingenen R (2018) Considerations for the incorporation of ozone effects into crop growth models. European Journal of Agronomy 100, 19-34.
Bishop KA*, Lemonnier P*, Quebedeaux JC, Montes CM, Leakey ADB, Ainsworth EA (2018) Similar photosynthetic response to elevated carbon dioxide concentration in species with different phloem loading strategies. Photosynthesis Research 137, 453–464.
Kirpich A, Ainsworth EA, Wedow JM, Concannon P, Newman JR, Michailidis G, McIntyre LM (2018) Variable selection in omics data: a practical evaluation of two different paradigms. PLOS ONE 13, e0197910.
Mills G, Sharps K, Simpson D, Pleijel H, Broberg M, Uddling J, Jaramillo F, Davies WJ, Agrawal M, Agrawal SB, Ainsworth EA, Büker P, Dentener F, Emberson L, Feng Z, Harmens H, Hayes F, Kobayashi K, Paoletti E, Van den Berg M, Van Dingenen R (2018) Ozone pollution will compromise efforts to increase global wheat production. Global Change Biology 24, 3560-3574.
Ainsworth EA, Lemonnier P (2018) Phloem function: A key to understanding and manipulating plant responses to rising atmospheric [CO2]? Current Opinion in Plant Biology 43, 50-56.
Jin Z, Ainsworth EA, Leakey ADB, Lobell DB (2018) Increasing drought and diminishing benefits of elevated carbon dioxide for soybean yields across the US Midwest. Global Change Biology 24, 522-533
2017
Leisner CP, Yendrek CR, Ainsworth EA (2017) Physiological and transcriptomic responses in the seed coat of field-grown soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) to abiotic stress. BMC Plant Biology 17: 242.
Wang P, Marsh E, Ainsworth EA, Leakey ADB, Sheflin AM, Schachtman D (2017) Shifts in microbial diversity in agricultural soils, rhizosphere and roots in two major cropping systems under elevated CO2 and O3. Scientific Reports 7:15109.
Yendrek CR, Erice G, Montes CM, Tomaz T, Sorgini CA, Brown PJ, McIntyre LM, Leakey ADB, Ainsworth EA (2017) Elevated ozone reduces photosynthetic carbon gain by accelerating leaf senescence of inbred and hybrid maize in a genotype-specific manner. Plant, Cell & Environment 40: 3088-3100.
Sanz-Sáez A, Koester RP, Rosenthal DM, Montes CM, Ort DR, Ainsworth EA (2017) Leaf and canopy scale drivers of genotypic variation in soybean response to elevated carbon dioxide concentration. Global Change Biology 23: 3908-3920 .
Ainsworth EA (2017) Understanding and improving global crop response to ozone pollution. Plant Journal 90: 886-897.
Siebers MH, Slattery RA, Yendrek CR, Locke AM, Drag D, Ainsworth EA, Bernacchi CJ, Ort DR (2017) Simulated heat waves during maize reproductive growth stages alter reproductive growth but have no lasting effect when applied during vegetative stages. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 240: 162-170.
Yendrek CR, Tomaz T, Montes CM, Cao Y, Morse AM, Brown PJ, McIntyre LM, Leakey ADB, Ainsworth EA (2017) High-throughput phenotyping of maize leaf physiological and biochemical traits using hyperspectral reflectance. Plant Physiology 173: 614-626.
2016
Gray SB, Siebers M, Locke AM, Rosenthal D, Strellner R, Paul RE, Klein SP, McGrath JM, Dermody O, Ainsworth EA, Bernacchi CJ, Long SP, Ort DR, Leakey ADB (2016) Intensifying drought eliminates the expected benefits of elevated [CO2] for soybean. Nature Plants 2: 16132.
Oikawa S, Ainsworth EA (2016) Changes in leaf area, nitrogen content and canopy photosynthesis in soybean exposed to an ozone concentration gradient. Environmental Pollution 215, 347-355.
Ainsworth EA (2016) The importance of intraspecific variation in tree responses to elevated [CO2]: breeding and management of future forests. Tree Physiology 36: 679-681.
Osborne SA, Mills G, Hayes F, Ainsworth EA, Bueker P, Emberson L (2016) Has the sensitivity of soybean cultivars to ozone pollution increased with time? An analysis of published dose-response data. Global Change Biology 22: 3097-3111.
Koester RP, Nohl BM, Diers BW, Ainsworth EA (2016) Has photosynthetic capacity increased with 80 years of soybean breeding? An examination of historical soybean cultivars. Plant, Cell & Environment 39, 1058-1067.
2015
McGrath JM, Betzelberger AM, Wang S, Shook E, Zhu X-G, Long SP, Ainsworth EA (2015) An analysis of ozone damage to historical maize and soybean yields in the United States. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112, 14390-14395.
Yendrek CR, Koester RP, Ainsworth EA (2015) A comparative analysis of transcriptomic, biochemical and physiological responses to elevated ozone identifies species-specific mechanisms of resilience in legume crops. Journal of Experimental Botany 66, 7101-7112.
Sanz-Saiz A, Heath KD, Burke PV, Ainsworth EA (2015) Inoculation with an enhanced N2-fixing Bradyrhizobium japonicum strain (USDA110) does not alter soybean (Glycine max Merr.) response to elevated CO2. Plant, Cell & Environment 38: 2589-2602.
Siebers MH, Yendrek CR, Drag D, Locke AM, Acosta LR, Leakey ADB, Ainsworth EA, Bernacchi CJ, Ort DR (2015) Heat waves imposed during early pod development in soybean (Glycine max) cause significant yield loss despite a rapid recovery from oxidative stress. Global Change Biology 21: 3114-3125.
Bishop KA, Betzelberger AM, Long SP, Ainsworth EA (2015) Is there potential to adapt soybean (Glycine max Merr.) to future [CO2]? An analysis of the yield response of 18 genotypes to Free Air CO2 Enrichment. Plant, Cell & Environment 38: 1765-1774.
2014
Leisner CP, Ming R, Ainsworth EA (2014) Distinct transcriptional profiles of ozone stress in soybean (Glycine max) flowers and pods. BMC Plant Biology 14: 335.
Koester RP, Skoneczka JA, Cary TR, Diers BW, Ainsworth EA (2014) Historical gains in soybean (Glycine max Merr.) seed yield are driven by linear increases in light interception, energy conversion and partitioning efficiencies. Journal of Experimental Botany 65: 3311-3321.
Bishop KA, Leakey ADB, Ainsworth EA (2014) How seasonal temperature or water inputs affect the relative response of C3 crops to elevated [CO2]: A global analysis of open top chamber and Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) studies. Food & Energy Security 3: 33-45.
Ainsworth EA, Serbin SP, Skoneczka JA, Townsend PA (2014) Using leaf optical properties to detect ozone effects on foliar biochemistry. Photosynthesis Research 119: 65-76.