Mesophyll conductance to CO 2 in Arabidopsis thaliana

Summary • The close rosette growth form, short petioles and small leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana make measurements with commercial gas exchange cuvettes difficult. This difficulty can be overcome by growing A. thaliana plants in ‘ice-cream cone-like’ soil pots. • This design permitted simultaneous gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence measurements from which the first estimates of mesophyll conductance to CO 2 ( g m ) in Arabidopsis were obtained and used to determine photosynthetic limitations during plant ageing from c . 30‐45 d. • Estimations of g m showed maximum values of 0.2 mol CO 2 m ‐2 s ‐1 bar ‐1 , lower than expected for a thin-leaved annual species. The parameterization of the response of net photosynthesis ( A N ) to chloroplast CO 2 concentrations ( C c ) yielded estimations of the maximum velocity of carboxylation ( V c,max_Cc ) which were also lower than those reported for other annual species. As A. thaliana plants aged from 30 to 45 d, there was a 40% decline of A N that was entirely the result of increased diffusional limitations to CO 2 transfer, with g m being the largest. • The results suggest that in A. thaliana A N is limited by low g m and low capacity for carboxylation. Decreased g m is the main factor involved in early age-induced photosynthetic decline.

[1]  Jaume Flexas,et al.  Photosynthetic limitations in response to water stress and recovery in Mediterranean plants with different growth forms. , 2007, The New phytologist.

[2]  M. Ribas-Carbó,et al.  Leaf age‐related changes in respiratory pathways are dependent on complex I activity in Nicotiana sylvestris , 2007 .

[3]  T. Black,et al.  Low stomatal and internal conductance to CO2 versus Rubisco deactivation as determinants of the photosynthetic decline of ageing evergreen leaves. , 2006, Plant, cell & environment.

[4]  J. Fisahn,et al.  Stomatal aperture can compensate altered stomatal density in Arabidopsis thaliana at growth light conditions. , 2006, Functional plant biology : FPB.

[5]  Josep Cifre,et al.  Tobacco aquaporin NtAQP1 is involved in mesophyll conductance to CO2 in vivo. , 2006, The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology.

[6]  E. Dreyer,et al.  Temperature response of photosynthesis and internal conductance to CO2: results from two independent approaches. , 2006, Journal of experimental botany.

[7]  M. Adams,et al.  Internal conductance does not scale with photosynthetic capacity: implications for carbon isotope discrimination and the economics of water and nitrogen use in photosynthesis. , 2006, Plant, cell & environment.

[8]  A. Cescatti,et al.  Leaf internal diffusion conductance limits photosynthesis more strongly in older leaves of Mediterranean evergreen broad‐leaved species , 2005 .

[9]  F. Magnani,et al.  Stomatal, mesophyll conductance and biochemical limitations to photosynthesis as affected by drought and leaf ontogeny in ash and oak trees , 2005 .

[10]  C. Warren.  The photosynthetic limitation posed by internal conductance to CO2 movement is increased by nutrient supply. , 2004, Journal of experimental botany.

[11]  N. Kruger,et al.  A Mutant of Arabidopsis Lacking the Triose-Phosphate/Phosphate Translocator Reveals Metabolic Regulation of Starch Breakdown in the Light1[w] , 2004, Plant Physiology.

[12]  I. Terashima,et al.  Overexpression of the barley aquaporin HvPIP2;1 increases internal CO(2) conductance and CO(2) assimilation in the leaves of transgenic rice plants. , 2004, Plant & cell physiology.

[13]  J. A. Lake.  Gas exchange: new challenges with Arabidopsis , 2004 .

[14]  C. Périlleux,et al.  Design of a versatile device for measuring whole plant gas exchanges in Arabidopsis thaliana , 2004 .

[15]  Alex A. R. Webb,et al.  Independent circadian regulation of assimilation and stomatal conductance in the ztl-1 mutant of Arabidopsis , 2004 .

[16]  Nigel J. Livingston,et al.  On the need to incorporate sensitivity to CO2 transfer conductance into the Farquhar–von Caemmerer–Berry leaf photosynthesis model , 2004 .

[17]  G. Edwards,et al.  A method for measuring whole plant photosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana , 1997, Photosynthesis Research.

[18]  T. Sharkey,et al.  Measurements of mesophyll conductance, photosynthetic electron transport and alternative electron sinks of field grown wheat leaves , 1994, Photosynthesis Research.

[19]  J. Berry,et al.  A biochemical model of photosynthetic CO2 assimilation in leaves of C3 species , 1980, Planta.

[20]  J. Browse,et al.  Photosynthesis is limited at high leaf to air vapor pressure deficit in a mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana that lacks trienoic fatty acids , 2004, Photosynthesis Research.

[21]  E. Singsaas,et al.  Elevated CO2 effects on mesophyll conductance and its consequences for interpreting photosynthetic physiology , 2004 .

[22]  S. Long,et al.  Gas exchange measurements, what can they tell us about the underlying limitations to photosynthesis? Procedures and sources of error. , 2003, Journal of experimental botany.

[23]  Nigel J. Livingston,et al.  Transfer conductance in second growth Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.)Franco) canopies , 2003 .

[24]  X. Le Roux,et al.  Effect of local irradiance on CO(2) transfer conductance of mesophyll in walnut. , 2002, Journal of experimental botany.

[25]  Susanne von Caemmerer,et al.  Temperature Response of Mesophyll Conductance. Implications for the Determination of Rubisco Enzyme Kinetics and for Limitations to Photosynthesis in Vivo , 2002, Plant Physiology.

[26]  J. Flexas,et al.  Effects of drought on light-energy dissipation mechanisms in high-light-acclimated, field-grown grapevines. , 2002, Functional plant biology : FPB.

[27]  Jaume Flexas,et al.  Effects of drought on photosynthesis in grapevines under field conditions: an evaluation of stomatal and mesophyll limitations. , 2002, Functional plant biology : FPB.

[28]  J. Berry,et al.  Automated system for simultaneous analysis of δ13C, δ18O and CO2 concentrations in small air samples , 2002 .

[29]  Carl J. Bernacchi,et al.  Improved temperature response functions for models of Rubisco‐limited photosynthesis , 2001 .

[30]  The Arabidopsis Genome Initiative.  Analysis of the genome sequence of the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana , 2000, Nature.

[31]  F. Loreto,et al.  Acquisition and Diffusion of CO2 in Higher Plant Leaves , 2000 .

[32]  Villani,et al.  Restrictions to carbon dioxide conductance and photosynthesis in spinach leaves recovering from salt stress , 1999, Plant physiology.

[33]  Alain Vavasseur,et al.  Alterations in light-induced stomatal opening in a starch-deficient mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana L. deficient in chloroplast phosphoglucomutase activity , 1997 .

[34]  Hans R. Schultz,et al.  Leaf absorptance of visible radiation in Vitis vinifera L.: estimates of age and shade effects with a simple field method , 1996 .

[35]  F. Loreto,et al.  Determining Photosynthetic Parameters from Leaf CO2 Exchange and Chlorophyll Fluorescence (Ribulose-1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase/Oxygenase Specificity Factor, Dark Respiration in the Light, Excitation Distribution between Photosystems, Alternative Electron Transport Rate, and Mesophyll Diffusion Res , 1996, Plant physiology.

[36]  S. von Caemmerer,et al.  Carbon Dioxide Diffusion inside Leaves , 1996, Plant physiology.

[37]  G. Farquhar,et al.  On the relationship between leaf anatomy and CO2 diffusion through the mesophyll of hypostomatous leaves , 1995 .

[38]  Stan D. Wullschleger,et al.  Biochemical Limitations to Carbon Assimilation in C3 Plants—A Retrospective Analysis of the A/Ci Curves from 109 Species , 1993 .

[39]  T. Sharkey,et al.  Theoretical Considerations when Estimating the Mesophyll Conductance to CO(2) Flux by Analysis of the Response of Photosynthesis to CO(2). , 1992, Plant physiology.

[40]  T. Sharkey,et al.  Estimation of Mesophyll Conductance to CO(2) Flux by Three Different Methods. , 1992, Plant physiology.

[41]  J. Briantais,et al.  The relationship between the quantum yield of photosynthetic electron transport and quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence , 1989 .

[42]  T. Sharkey,et al.  Carbon isotope discrimination measured concurrently with gas exchange to investigate CO2 diffusion in leaves of higher plants , 1986 .

[43]  H. Jones.  Partitioning stomatal and non‐stomatal limitations to photosynthesis , 1985 .

[44]  C. Somerville,et al.  Mutants of the cruciferous plant Arabidopsis thaliana lacking glycine decarboxylase activity. , 1982, The Biochemical journal.

[45]  R. Huffaker,et al.  Photosynthesis, leaf resistances, and ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase degradation in senescing barley leaves. , 1980, Plant physiology.

[46]  E. Epstein.  Mineral Nutrition of Plants: Principles and Perspectives , 1972 .