pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Respiration, Rather Than Photosynthesis, Determines Rice Yield Loss Under Moderate High-Temperature Conditions - PubMed

  • ️Fri Jan 01 2021

Respiration, Rather Than Photosynthesis, Determines Rice Yield Loss Under Moderate High-Temperature Conditions

Guangyan Li et al. Front Plant Sci. 2021.

Abstract

Photosynthesis is an important biophysical and biochemical reaction that provides food and oxygen to maintain aerobic life on earth. Recently, increasing photosynthesis has been revisited as an approach for reducing rice yield losses caused by high temperatures. We found that moderate high temperature causes less damage to photosynthesis but significantly increases respiration. In this case, the energy production efficiency is enhanced, but most of this energy is allocated to maintenance respiration, resulting in an overall decrease in the energy utilization efficiency. In this perspective, respiration, rather than photosynthesis, may be the primary contributor to yield losses in a high-temperature climate. Indeed, the dry matter weight and yield could be enhanced if the energy was mainly allocated to the growth respiration. Therefore, we proposed that engineering smart rice cultivars with a highly efficient system of energy production, allocation, and utilization could effectively solve the world food crisis under high-temperature conditions.

Keywords: energy utilization efficiency; high temperature; photosynthesis; respiration; smart crops breeding; yield loss.

Copyright © 2021 Li, Chen, Feng, Peng, Tao and Fu.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1

Response of rice plants to high temperatures. (A) Changes in leaf temperature of rice plants under high temperatures: (a) Panicle and leaf temperatures of rice plants grown in the paddy field under a high temperature of 37–38°C at the anthesis stage; (b) Leaf temperatures of rice plants grown in a greenhouse under a high temperature of 41°C at the tillering stage. (Ba–c) The thermal images of rice plants under 28, 34, and 38°C conditions in plant growth chambers; (Bd) Leaf temperature; and (Be) Transpiration rate (TR). (Ca) Net photosynthetic rate (PN); (Cb) Day respiration (Rd).

Figure 2
Figure 2

Effect of heat stress on dry weight and energy metabolism of rice plants. (Aa) NADH dehydrogenase; (Ab) Cytochrome c oxidase; (Ac) ATPase; (Ad) Alternative oxidase (AOX); (Ae) ATP content; and (Af) Dry weight. (Ba) The effect of leaf temperature on photosynthesis, respiration, and biomass of rice plants under high-temperature conditions. Leaf temperature and transpiration rate increase with increasing ambient temperature. Due to transpiration, plant leaf temperatures tend to be far below the ambient temperature, particularly under high-temperature conditions. In this case, moderate high temperature caused little damage to photosynthesis but increased respiration, requiring the consumption of more carbohydrates to produce ATP through respiration for the maintenance of biological activity. Plant biomass or harvest yield is determined by growth respiration and maintenance respiration under high-temperature conditions. (Bb) A model of the relationship between growth respiration and maintenance respiration in plants under global warming. The maintenance respiration processes, such as unnecessary protein turnover, futile cycling, THI4 thiazole synthase, glycation, antioxidant capacity, heat shock proteins, and even the emission of BVOCs, are activated under high temperatures. By contrast, the growth respiration processes, such as nutrient uptake and assimilation, biosynthesis of building blocks, and biosynthesis of growth machinery, are inhibited. These effects of high temperature are seen in crops with low energy utilization efficiency. Therefore, crops with high energy utilization efficiency can be engineered by inhibiting maintenance respiration processes and increasing growth respiration activities under high temperatures.

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Ahmad N., Zaidi S. S., Mansoor S. (2020). Alternative routes to improving photosynthesis in field crops. Trends Plant Sci. 25, 958–960. 10.1016/j.tplants.2020.07.003, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Amthor J. S. (2000). The McCree–de Wit–Penning de Vries–Thornley respiration paradigms: 30 years later. Ann. Bot. 86, 1–20. 10.1006/anbo.2000.1175 - DOI
    1. Amthor J. S., Bar-Even A., Hanson A. D., Millar A. H., Stitt M., Sweetlove L. J., et al. . (2019). Engineering strategies to boost crop productivity by cutting respiratory carbon loss. Plant Cell 31, 297–314. 10.1105/tpc.18.00743, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Atkin O. K., Tjoelker M. G. (2003). Thermal acclimation and the dynamic response of plant respiration to temperature. Trends Plant Sci. 8, 343–351. 10.1016/S1360-1385(03)00136-5, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Baena-González E., Sheen J. (2008). Convergent energy and stress signaling. Trends Plant Sci. 13, 474–482. 10.1016/j.tplants.2008.06.006, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources