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Effects of low and elevated CO 2 partial pressure on growth and reproduction of Arabidopsis thaliana from different elevations
Author(s) -
WARD J. K.,
STRAIN B. R.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
plant, cell and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 200
eISSN - 1365-3040
pISSN - 0140-7791
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-3040.1997.d01-59.x
Subject(s) - reproduction , biology , arabidopsis thaliana , sexual reproduction , pleistocene , zoology , biomass (ecology) , genetic variation , botany , ecology , gene , genetics , paleontology , mutant
ABSTRACT Atmospheric CO 2 partial pressure may have been as low as 18 Pa during the Pleistocene and is expected to increase from 35 to 70 Pa before the end of the next century. Low CO 2 reduces the growth and reproduction of C 3 plants, whereas elevated CO 2 often increases growth and reproduction. Plants at high elevation are exposed to reduced CO 2 partial pressure and may be better adapted to the low CO 2 of the Pleistocene. We examined genotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana from different elevations for variation in growth and reproduction at the CO 2 levels of the Pleistocene, the present and the future. Genotypes exhibited limited genetic variation in the response of the production of biomass to changes in CO 2 , but showed significant variation in reproductive characters. We found evidence that plants from high elevations may be better adapted to low CO 2 when considering seed number, which is an important component of fitness. Genotypes showed greater variation in the response of seed number between 35 and 20 Pa CO 2 compared to 35 and 70 Pa CO 2 . We conclude that present‐day C 3 annuals may have greater potential for evolution in response to the low CO 2 of the Pleistocene relative to the elevated CO 2 predicted for the future.