Abstract
Agave species are a key component of the structure vegetation in the American drylands and have various anthropogenic uses. Agave angustifolia subsp. tequilana is an economically and culturally important Mexican species. Negative impacts on biodiversity are expected as a consequence of global warming; however, it has been documented that some Agave species are not affected by projected warming. Previous studies on some succulent species under induced global warming have shown a certain level of tolerance to temperature stress. We evaluated the potential temperature stress tolerance of two early developmental phases of A. angustifolia subsp. tequilana, by means of the following photochemical parameters: maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm); effective quantum yield of PSII (ΦPSII); electron transport rate (ETR); non-photochemical quenching (NPQ); and pigment content (total chlorophyll, carotenoids and anthocyanins) in two-year-old plants and five-year-old plants under induced warming. Temperature and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) were higher in open-top chamber (OTCs) induced warming treatment than control plots, reproducing current climatic conditions. Both developmental phases showed high Fv/Fm values in both OTCs and control plots. Two-year-old plants displayed higher NPQ values than five-year-old plants under warming. The ΦPSII and ETR values were low in both warming treatments and developmental phases. Low anthocyanin content was found in both treatments and developmental phases. Independently of warming, the two-year-old plants showed higher total chlorophyll and carotenoid content values than the five-year-old plants. Despite that induced warming affected the photochemical activity of A. angustifolia subsp. tequilana, the high NPQ and pigment values indicate that this species has a high tolerance to future global warming. Our results provide novel evidence of the high physiological tolerance that could act in the early developmental phases of a key Agave species to cope the effects of global warming.
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