Open AccessShort photoperiod attenuates CO2 fertilization effect on shoot biomass in Arabidopsis thaliana
Author(s) -
Namraj Dhami,
Christopher I. Cazzonelli
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
physiology and molecular biology of plants/physiology and molecular biology of plants
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.754
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 0971-5894
pISSN - 0974-0430
DOI - 10.1007/s12298-021-00968-6
Subject(s) - shoot , rosette (schizont appearance) , photosynthesis , biology , photoperiodism , arabidopsis , biomass (ecology) , agronomy , arabidopsis thaliana , botany , human fertilization , horticulture , biochemistry , gene , mutant , immunology
The level of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in the air can affect several traits in plants. Elevated atmospheric CO 2 (eCO 2 ) can enhance photosynthesis and increase plant productivity, including biomass, although there are inconsistencies regarding the effects of eCO 2 on the plant growth response. The compounding effects of ambient environmental conditions such as light intensity, photoperiod, water availability, and soil nutrient composition can affect the extent to which eCO 2 enhances plant productivity. This study aimed to investigate the growth response of Arabidopsis thaliana to eCO 2 (800 ppm) under short photoperiod (8/16 h, light/dark cycle). Here, we report an attenuated fertilization effect of eCO 2 on the shoot biomass of Arabidopsis plants grown under short photoperiod. The biomass of two-, three-, and four-week-old Arabidopsis plants was increased by 10%, 15%, and 28%, respectively, under eCO 2 compared to the ambient CO 2 (aCO 2 , 400 ppm) i.e. control. However, the number of rosette leaves, rosette area, and shoot biomass were similar in mature plants under both CO 2 conditions, despite 40% higher photosynthesis in eCO 2 exposed plants. The levels of chlorophylls and carotenoids were similar in the fully expanded rosette leaves regardless of the level of CO 2 . In conclusion, CO 2 enrichment moderately increased Arabidopsis shoot biomass at the juvenile stage, whereas the eCO 2 -induced increment in shoot biomass was not apparent in mature plants. A shorter day-length can limit the source-to-sink resource allocation in a plant in age-dependent manner, hence diminishing the eCO 2 fertilization effect on the shoot biomass in Arabidopsis plants grown under short photoperiod.