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Several studies have previously reported that nanomaterial uptake and toxicity in plants are species dependent. However, the differences between photosynthetic pathways, C3 and C4, following nanomaterial exposure are poorly understood. In the current work, wheat and rice, two C3 pathway species are compared to amaranth and maize, which utilize the C4 photosynthetic mechanism. These plants were cultured in soils which were spiked with CuO, Ag, TiO 2 , MWCNT, and FLG nanomaterials. Overall, the C4 plant exhibited higher resilience to NM stress than C3 plants. In particular, significant differences were observed in chlorophyll contents with rice returning a 40.9–54.2% decrease compared to 3.5–15.1% for maize. Fv/Fm levels were significantly reduced by up to 51% in rice whereas no significant reductions were observed in amaranth and maize. Furthermore, NM uptake in the C3 species was greater than that in C4 plants, a trend that was also seen in metal concentration. TEM results showed that CuO NPs altered the chloroplast thylakoid structure in rice leaves and a large number of CuO NPs were observed in the vascular sheath cells. In contrast, there were no significant changes in the chloroplasts in the vascular sheath and no significant CuO NPs were found in maize leaves. This study was the first to systematically characterize the effect of metal and carbon-based nanomaterials in soil on C3 and C4 plants, providing a new perspective for understanding the impact of nanomaterials on plants. Graphical abstract

Soil labile and recalcitrant carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) are strongly controlled by plant inputs and climatic conditions. However, the interrelation of labile and recalcitrant pools with changes in plant functional groups (i.e., C3 and C4) along precipitation gradients is not fully understood. Here, we investigated the soil organic C and N (SOC and SON), labile C and N (LC and LN), recalcitrant C and N (RC and RN), and their isotopes (δ 13 C, and δ 15 N) in relation to C3 and C4 plant inputs from 20 sites across a 600-km precipitation gradient in secondary grasslands of South China. The SOC content decreased first slightly and then increased along precipitation gradients, largely due to the increase in C4 plant C inputs in the lower precipitation regions. In contrast, the SON content increased with increasing N inputs from C3 plant at higher precipitation regions. The LC and LN contents increased with increasing precipitation, whereas RC and RN did not change with precipitation. The LC and LN were correlated with plant C and N contents, as well as the mean annual precipitation, respectively. Increases in LC and LN stocks were tightly related to enhanced plant C and N inputs influenced by precipitation, suggesting stronger sensitivity of labile pools to both plant functional groups inputs and precipitation compared to the recalcitrant pool. Moreover, the δ 13 C values in RC declined with precipitation, while the δ 15 N values of both labile and recalcitrant N increased with increasing precipitation, further revealing that soil labile and recalcitrant C and N pools closely related to the shift in the C3 and C4 plant along precipitation gradients. Overall, our findings indicated that soil labile and recalcitrant fractions should be considered in context of precipitation under which plant inputs takes place in predicting soil C and N dynamics.

In C 3 plants, part of the CO 2 fixed during photosynthesis in chloroplasts is released from mitochondria during photorespiration by decarboxylation of glycine via glycine decarboxylase (GDC), thereby reducing photosynthetic efficiency. The apparent positioning of most mitochondria in the interior (vacuole side of chloroplasts) of mesophyll cells in C 3 grasses would increase the efficiency of refixation of CO 2 released from mitochondria by ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/​oxygenase (Rubisco) in chloroplasts. Therefore, in mesophyll cells of C 4 grasses, which lack both GDC and Rubisco, the mitochondria ought not to be positioned the same way as in C 3 mesophyll cells. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the intracellular position of mitochondria in mesophyll cells of 14 C 4 grasses of different C 4 subtypes and subfamilies (Chloridoideae, Micrairoideae, and Panicoideae) and a C 3 –C 4 intermediate grass, Steinchisma hians , under an electron microscope. In C 4 mesophyll cells, most mitochondria were positioned adjacent to the cell wall, which clearly differs from the positioning in C 3 mesophyll cells. In S. hians mesophyll cells, the positioning was similar to that in C 3 cells. These results suggest that the mitochondrial positioning in C 4 mesophyll cells reflects the absence of both GDC and Rubisco in the mesophyll cells and the high activity of phospho enol pyruvate carboxylase. In contrast, the relationship between the mitochondrial positioning and enzyme distribution in S. hians is complex, but the positioning may be related to the capture of respiratory CO 2 by Rubisco. Our study provides new possible insight into the physiological role of mitochondrial positioning in photosynthetic cells.

1. Understanding the importance of biotic interactions in driving the distribution and abundance of species is a central goal of plant ecology. Early vascular plants likely colonized land occupied by biocrusts — photoautotrophic, surface-dwelling soil communities comprised of cyanobacteria, bryophytes, lichens and fungi — suggesting biotic interactions between biocrusts and plants have been at play for some 2,000 million years. Today, biocrusts coexist with plants in dryland ecosystems worldwide, and have been shown to both facilitate or inhibit plant species performance depending on ecological context. Yet, the factors that drive the direction and magnitude of these effects remain largely unknown. 2. We conducted a meta-analysis of plant responses to biocrusts using a global data-set encompassing 1,004 studies from six continents. 3. Meta-analysis revealed there is no simple positive or negative effect of biocrusts on plants. Rather, plant responses differ by biocrust composition and plant species traits and vary across plant ontogeny. Moss-dominated biocrusts facilitated, while lichen-dominated biocrusts inhibited overall plant performance. Plant responses also varied among plant functional groups: C₄ grasses received greater benefits from biocrusts compared to C₃ grasses, and plants without N-fixing symbionts responded more positively to biocrusts than plants with N-fixing symbionts. Biocrusts decreased germination but facilitated growth of non-native plant species. 4. Synthesis. Results suggest that interspecific variation in plant responses to biocrusts, contingent on biocrust type, plant traits, and ontogeny can have strong impacts on plant species performance. These findings have important implications for understanding biocrust contributions to plant productivity and community assembly processes in ecosystems worldwide.

Climate change forecasts of more frequent climate extremes suggest that such events will become increasingly important drivers of future ecosystem dynamics and function. Because the rarity and unpredictability of naturally occurring climate extremes limits assessment of their ecological impacts, we experimentally imposed extreme drought and a mid-summer heat wave over two years in a central U.S. grassland. While the ecosystem was resistant to heat waves, it was not resistant to extreme drought, which reduced aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) below the lowest level measured in this grassland in almost 30 years. This extreme reduction in ecosystem function was a consequence of reduced productivity of both C 4 grasses and C 3 forbs. However, the dominant forb was negatively impacted by the drought more than the dominant grass, and this led to a reordering of species abundances within the plant community. Although this change in community composition persisted post-drought, ANPP recovered completely the year after drought due to rapid demographic responses by the dominant grass, compensating for loss of the dominant forb. Overall, these results show that an extreme reduction in ecosystem function attributable to climate extremes (e.g., low resistance) does not preclude rapid ecosystem recovery. Given that dominance by a few species is characteristic of most ecosystems, knowledge of the traits of these species and their responses to climate extremes will be key for predicting future ecosystem dynamics and function.

Background and aims Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have been shown to reduce abiotic stress on plants, but these effects have not been quantitatively synthesized. We evaluated the degree to which plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) improve plant performance with and without drought stress. Methods We used meta-analysis to summarize 52 published articles on the effects of PGPR on root mass, shoot mass and yield under well-watered and drought conditions. We also asked whether fertilization treatments, experimental conditions, inoculum taxonomic complexity, plant functional group, or inoculum delivery method introduce variation in the effect size of PGPR. Results Across all treatments, plants were highly responsive to PGPR; under well-watered conditions, root mass increased by 35%, shoot mass increased by 28%, and reproductive yield increased by 19%. Under drought conditions, the effect was even higher: root mass increased by 43%, shoot mass increased by 45%, and reproductive yield increased by 40%. The effect of PGPR was significantly larger under drought for shoot mass (p < 0.05) and reproductive yield (p < 0.05), but not for root mass. PGPR responsiveness also varied according to plant functional group, with C3 grass shoot production responding the least strongly to PGPR. Conclusions We demonstrate that PGPR are highly effective for improving plant growth, with a greater effect under drought for above ground traits. While previously known for their bio-control abilities, we show that PGPR may also contribute to drought amelioration and water conservation.

The temperature response of photosynthesis is one of the key factors determining predicted responses to warming in global vegetation models (GVMs). The response may vary geographically, owing to genetic adaptation to climate, and temporally, as a result of acclimation to changes in ambient temperature. Our goal was to develop a robust quantitative global model representing acclimation and adaptation of photosynthetic temperature responses. We quantified and modelled key mechanisms responsible for photosynthetic temperature acclimation and adaptation using a global dataset of photosynthetic CO2 response curves, including data from 141 C3 species from tropical rainforest to Arctic tundra. We separated temperature acclimation and adaptation processes by considering seasonal and common‐garden datasets, respectively. The observed global variation in the temperature optimum of photosynthesis was primarily explained by biochemical limitations to photosynthesis, rather than stomatal conductance or respiration. We found acclimation to growth temperature to be a stronger driver of this variation than adaptation to temperature at climate of origin. We developed a summary model to represent photosynthetic temperature responses and showed that it predicted the observed global variation in optimal temperatures with high accuracy. This novel algorithm should enable improved prediction of the function of global ecosystems in a warming climate.

A comprehensive evaluation of the recently developed Fraunhofer line depth (FLD) and laser-induced saturation pulse (FLD-LISP) method was conducted to measure chlorophyll fluorescence (ChlF) parameters of the quantum yield of photosystem II (ΦPSII), non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), and the photosystem II-based electron transport rate (ETR) in three plant species including paprika (C3 plant), maize (C4 plant), and pachira (C3 plant). First, the relationships between photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) and ChlF parameters retrieved using FLD-LISP and the pulse amplitude-modulated (PAM) methods were analyzed for all three species. Then the relationships between ChlF parameters measured using FLD-LISP and PAM were evaluated for the plants in different growth stages of leaves from mature to aging conditions. The relationships of ChlF parameters/PPFD were similar in both FLD-LISP and PAM methods in all plant species. ΦPSII showed a linear relationship with PPFD in all three species whereas NPQ was found to be linearly related to PPFD in paprika and maize, but not for pachira. The ETR/PPFD relationship was nonlinear with increasing values observed for PPFDs lower than about 800 μmol m−2 s−1 for paprika, lower than about 1200 μmol m−2 s−1 for maize, and lower than about 800 μmol m−2 s−1 for pachira. The ΦPSII, NPQ, and ETR of both the FLD-LISP and PAM methods were very well correlated (R2 = 0.89, RMSE = 0.05), (R2 = 0.86, RMSE = 0.44), and (R2 = 0.88, RMSE = 24.69), respectively, for all plants. Therefore, the FLD-LISP method can be recommended as a robust technique for the estimation of ChlF parameters.

The terrestrial carbon and water cycles are intimately linked: the carbon cycle is driven by photosynthesis, while the water balance is dominated by transpiration, and both fluxes are controlled by plant stomatal conductance. The ratio between these fluxes, the plant water-use efficiency (WUE), is a useful indicator of vegetation function. WUE can be estimated using several techniques, including leaf gas exchange, stable isotope discrimination, and eddy covariance. Here we compare global compilations of data for each of these three techniques. We show that patterns of variation in WUE across plant functional types (PFTs) are not consistent among the three datasets. Key discrepancies include the following: leaf-scale data indicate differences between needleleaf and broadleaf forests, but ecosystem-scale data do not; leaf-scale data indicate differences between C3 and C4 species, whereas at ecosystem scale there is a difference between C3 and C4 crops but not grasslands; and isotope-based estimates of WUE are higher than estimates based on gas exchange for most PFTs. Our study quantifies the uncertainty associated with different methods of measuring WUE, indicates potential for bias when using WUE measures to parameterize or validate models, and indicates key research directions needed to reconcile alternative measures of WUE.

Endophytes are microbial symbionts living inside plants and have been extensively researched in recent decades for their functions associated with plant responses to environmental stress. We conducted a meta-analysis of endophyte effects on host plants’ growth and fitness in response to three abiotic stress factors: drought, nitrogen deficiency, and excessive salinity. Ninety-four endophyte strains and 42 host plant species from the literature were evaluated in the analysis. Endophytes increased biomass accumulation of host plants under all three stress conditions. The stress mitigation effects by endophytes were similar among different plant taxa or functional groups with few exceptions; eudicots and C₄ species gained more biomass than monocots and C₃ species with endophytes, respectively, under drought conditions. Our analysis supports the effectiveness of endophytes in mitigating drought, nitrogen deficiency, and salinity stress in a wide range of host species with little evidence of plant-endophyte specificity.