Abstract
C4 plants frequently experience high light and high temperature conditions in the field, which reduce growth and yield. However, the mechanisms underlying these stress responses in C4 plants have been under-explored, especially the coordination between mesophyll (M) and bundle sheath (BS) cells. We investigated how the C4 model plant Setaria viridis responded to a four-hour high light or high temperature treatment at photosynthetic, transcriptomic, and ultrastructural levels. Although we observed a comparable reduction of photosynthetic efficiency in high light or high temperature treated leaves, detailed analysis of multi-level responses revealed important differences in key pathways and M/BS specificity responding to high light and high temperature. We provide a systematic analysis of high light and high temperature responses in S. viridis, reveal different acclimation strategies to these two stresses in C4 plants, discover unique light/temperature responses in C4 plants in comparison to C3 plants, and identify potential targets to improve abiotic stress tolerance in C4 crops.
Highlights
C4 plants frequently experience high light and high temperature conditions in the field, which reduce growth and yield
High light or high temperature caused a comparable reduction in photosynthesis and high light resulted in photoinhibition
S. viridis leaves treated with 4 h high light (HL_4h) exhibited significantly reduced maximum efficiencies of photosystem II (PSII) (Fv/Fm) as compared to those with 4 h control treatment (Fig. 1b), suggesting high-light-induced photoinhibition
Summary
C4 plants frequently experience high light and high temperature conditions in the field, which reduce growth and yield. We investigated how the C4 model plant Setaria viridis responded to a four-hour high light or high temperature treatment at photosynthetic, transcriptomic, and ultrastructural levels. C4 crops experience more frequent, damaging high light or high temperature stresses in their natural environments than C3 crops, with reduced C4 crop yield regularly occurring in warmer regions[7]. To improve C4 crop yields, it is crucial to holistically approach how C4 plants respond to high light or high temperature, two of the most influential environmental factors that can compromise C4 photosynthesis. High light stress results in dynamic transcriptional regulation of photosynthetic genes and induces the abscisic acid (ABA) pathway in the C3 model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis throughout)[11]
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