Abstract
We review the role of a family of transcription factors and their regulons in maintaining high photosynthetic performance across a range of challenging environments with a focus on extreme temperatures and water availability. Specifically, these transcription factors include CBFs (C-repeat binding factors) and DREBs (dehydration-responsive element-binding), with CBF/DREB1 primarily orchestrating cold adaptation and other DREBs serving in heat, drought, and salinity adaptation. The central role of these modulators in plant performance under challenging environments is based on (i) interweaving of these regulators with other key signaling networks (plant hormones and redox signals) as well as (ii) their function in integrating responses across the whole plant, from light-harvesting and sugar-production in the leaf to foliar sugar export and water import and on to the plant’s sugar-consuming sinks (growth, storage, and reproduction). The example of Arabidopsis thaliana ecotypes from geographic origins with contrasting climates is used to describe the links between natural genetic variation in CBF transcription factors and the differential acclimation of plant anatomical and functional features needed to support superior photosynthetic performance in contrasting environments. Emphasis is placed on considering different temperature environments (hot versus cold) and light environments (limiting versus high light), on trade-offs between adaptations to contrasting environments, and on plant lines minimizing such trade-offs.
Highlights
Photosynthesis converts sunlight into food, plant-derived materials, and carbon-based fuels.Continuing human population growth increases the demand for these necessities, while extreme climate events threaten crop productivity
The present review provides an overview of changes at these different levels, including selected transcription factors that co-optimize plant productivity and tolerance to cold, heat, and drought (Section 2), selected metabolic change, and a case study of associated changes in plant form and function that support superior photosynthetic productivity under extreme temperatures (Section 4)
The present review focuses on a set of selected transcription factors with roles in maintaining high photosynthetic performance in extreme environments, i.e., the C-repeat binding factor (CBF)/
Summary
Photosynthesis converts sunlight into food, plant-derived materials, and carbon-based fuels. The right panel shows examples of sugar-consuming and -storing sink panelexport shows a leaf vein that contains conduits for water import (blue) into and conduits for sugar tissues that constitute the plant’s demand for photosynthate. Strong increases in the yield of whilegrowth, storageenergy of photosynthate and reproduction are alternative key sinks that can support high grain/fruit crops were achieved in numerous instances by the generation of dwarf varieties or photosynthetic capacity. Plant productivity is the sum-total of vegetative growth, energy pruning practices that led to an increased allocation of photosynthate to grain/fruit yield relative to storage, and flower and seed/fruit production. We suggest that proxies for the leaf features reviewed here, including those responsible for foliar water import and sugar export, merit attention in the development of corresponding markers suitable for high-throughput phenotyping
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