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Photosynthesis is the vital metabolism of the plant affected by abiotic stress such as high temperature and elevated [CO2] levels, which ultimately affect the source-sink relationship. Triose phosphate, the primary precursor of carbohydrate (starch and sucrose) synthesis in the plant, depends on environmental cues. The synthesis of starch in the chloroplasts of leaves (during the day), the transport of photoassimilates (sucrose) from source to sink, the loading and unloading of photoassimilates, and the accumulation of starch in the sink tissue all require a highly regulated network and communication system within the plant. These processes might be affected by high-temperature stress and elevated [CO2] conditions. Generally, elevated [CO2] levels enhance plant growth, photosynthetic rate, starch synthesis, and accumulation, ultimately diluting the nutrient of sink tissues. On the contrary, high-temperature stress is detrimental to plant development affecting photosynthesis, starch synthesis, sucrose synthesis and transport, and photoassimilate accumulation in sink tissues. Moreover, these environmental conditions also negatively impact the quality attributes such as grain/tuber quality, cooking quality, nutritional status in the edible parts and organoleptic traits. In this review, we have attempted to provide an insight into the source-sink relationship and the sugar metabolites synthesized and utilized by the plant under elevated [CO2] and high-temperature stress. This review will help future researchers comprehend the source-sink process for crop growth under changing climate scenarios.KeymesageElevated [CO2] and high temperature (ECHT) affect the source-sink relationship. Starch synthesis and remobilization in source tissue, photoassimilate transport via phloem and starch accumulation in the sink tissue is a highly regulated mechanism under ECHT conditions.

Key messageThe present study clearly showed that the optimum root zone temperature of photosynthesis and plant growth was affected by air temperature, and that optimization of root zone temperature depending on an air growth temperature by cooling systems could lead to improvement of plant production.Temperature is one of the critical factors affecting plant growth and yield production. Both air and root zone temperatures can strongly affect growth and development of plants. However, studies on the effects of root zone temperature on plant growth parameters along with air temperature are still limited. In the present study, the effects of air and root zone temperature on plant growth, physiological parameters and photosynthetic characteristics of lettuce plants were investigated to optimize the air and root zone temperature to achieve the best growth conditions for lettuce plants. Two air temperature treatments (30/25 and 25/20 °C at day/night temperature) and five root zone temperature treatments (15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 °C) were applied in this study. The present study showed that the maximum plant growth of lettuce plants was higher in air temperatures at 30/25 °C than in 25/20 °C. When the plants were grown at an air temperature of 30/25 °C, the optimum root zone temperature appeared to be 30 °C. However, when the plants were grown at an air temperature of 25/20 °C, the optimum root temperature decreased and appeared to be 25 °C. Furthermore, plants grown under air temperature of 30/25 °C showed greater CO2 assimilation rate, stomatal conductance, electron transport rate (ETR) at high light, and lower non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) at high light than those of 25/20 °C. These results suggest that it is necessary to control and adjust the root zone temperature based on the air temperature.

Key messageWe propose that anion channels are essential players for green plants to respond and adapt to the abiotic stresses associated changing climate via reviewing the literature and analyzing the molecular evolution, comparative genetic analysis, and bioinformatics analysis of the key anion channel gene families.Climate change-induced abiotic stresses including heatwave, elevated CO2, drought, and flooding, had a major impact on plant growth in the last few decades. This scenario could lead to the exposure of plants to various stresses. Anion channels are confirmed as the key factors in plant stress responses, which exist in the green lineage plants. Numerous studies on anion channels have shed light on their protein structure, ion selectivity and permeability, gating characteristics, and regulatory mechanisms, but a great quantity of questions remain poorly understand. Here, we review function of plant anion channels in cell signaling to improve plant response to environmental stresses, focusing on climate change related abiotic stresses. We investigate the molecular response and evolution of plant slow anion channel, aluminum-activated malate transporter, chloride channel, voltage-dependent anion channel, and mechanosensitive-like anion channel in green plant. Furthermore, comparative genetic and bioinformatic analysis reveal the conservation of these anion channel gene families. We also discuss the tissue and stress specific expression, molecular regulation, and signaling transduction of those anion channels. We propose that anion channels are essential players for green plants to adapt in a diverse environment, calling for more fundamental and practical studies on those anion channels towards sustainable food production and ecosystem health in the future.

Key messageA comparative analysis of the genus Flaveria showed a C4 evolutionary process in which the anatomical and metabolic features of C4 photosynthesis were gradually acquired through C3–C4 intermediate stages.C4 photosynthesis has been acquired in multiple lineages of angiosperms during evolution to suppress photorespiration. Crops that perform C4 photosynthesis exhibit high rates of CO2 assimilation and high grain production even under high-temperature in semiarid environments; therefore, engineering C4 photosynthesis in C3 plants is of great importance in the application field. The genus Flaveria contains a large number of C3, C3–C4 intermediate, C4-like, and C4 species, making it a good model genus to study the evolution of C4 photosynthesis, and these studies indicate the direction for C4 engineering. C4 photosynthesis was acquired gradually through the C3–C4 intermediate stage. First, a two-celled C2 cycle called C2 photosynthesis was acquired by localizing glycine decarboxylase activity in the mitochondria of bundle sheath cells. With the development of two-cell metabolism, anatomical features also changed. Next, the replacement of the two-celled C2 cycle by the two-celled C4 cycle was induced by the acquisition of cell-selective expression in addition to the upregulation of enzymes in the C4 cycle during the C3–C4 intermediate stage. This was supported by an increase in cyclic electron transport activity in response to an increase in the ATP/NADPH demand for metabolism. Suppression of the C3 cycle in mesophyll cells was induced after the functional establishment of the C4 cycle, and optimization of electron transport by suppressing the activity of photosystem II also occurred during the final phase of C4 evolution.

Key messageThe maternal carbon dioxide environment affected the responses of offspring to elevated carbon dioxide with regard to stomatal density, photosynthesis and yield.The responses of crops to rising carbon dioxide concentration ([CO2]) are often validated using single-generation short-term experiments. However, the transgenerational effects of elevated [CO2] on rice growth have received little attention. Here, we set up ambient [CO2] (a[CO2]) and elevated [CO2] (e[CO2], a[CO2] + 200 µmol mol−1) treatments using open-top chamber (OTC). Rice was cultivated in different [CO2] treatments over five growing seasons in 2016–2020. Beginning in 2017, rice seeds harvested in the previous year under a[CO2] and e[CO2] conditions were planted in their respective growing environments. In 2021, seedlings derived from a[CO2] maternal treatment (a[CO2]m) and e[CO2] maternal treatment (e[CO2]m) were planted with both a[CO2] offspring (a[CO2]o) and e[CO2] offspring (e[CO2]o) conditions to investigate the transgenerational effects of e[CO2]. Leaf gas exchange and grain yield under different conditions were determined in 2021. The results showed that light-saturated net photosynthesis (Asat) and stomatal conductance of offspring from e[CO2]m were significantly lower at the heading and grain-filling stages under e[CO2]o compared with a[CO2]m, and the corresponding stomatal density was also significantly lower. Moreover, Asat was positively correlated with stomatal density. These results suggest that transgenerational effects induce a decrease in stomatal density and thus cause a lower benefit of Asat from e[CO2]o. These findings contribute new insights into predicting crop growth and yield in the future.

Key messageComparative transcriptomic analysis provides broad and detailed understandings of transcriptional responses to a wide range of temperatures in different plant tissues, and unique regulatory functions of temperature-mediating transcription factors.Climate change poses a great threat to plant diversity and food security. It is thus of necessity to understand the molecular mechanisms for perceiving and responding to adverse temperature changes, to develop the cultivars that are resilient to these environmental stresses. Making use of publicly available datasets, we gathered and re-analyzed 259 individual transcriptomic profiles from 139 unique experiments of Arabidopsis thaliana’s shoot, root, and seedling tissues, subjected to a wide variety of temperature conditions, ranging from freezing, cold, low and high ambient temperatures, to heat shock. Despite the underlying differences in the overall transcriptomic profiles between the plant tissues, we were able to identify distinct sets of genes whose transcription patterns were highly responsive to different types of temperature conditions, some were common among the tissues and some were tissue-specific. Interestingly, we observed that the known temperature-responsive genes such as the heat-shock factor (HSF) family, were up-regulated not only in response to high temperatures, but some of its members were also likely involved in the cold response. By integrating the DNA-binding specificity information of the key temperature transcription factor (TF) HSFA1a, PIF4, and CBFs, we elucidated their distinct DNA-binding patterns to the target genes that showed different transcriptional responses. Taken together, we have comprehensively characterized the transcription patterns of temperature-responsive genes and provided directly testable hypotheses on the regulatory roles of key temperature TFs on the expression dynamics of their target genes.

Key messageA wild relative of rice from the Australian savannah was compared with cultivated rice, revealing thermotolerance in growth and photosynthetic processes and a more robust carbon economy in extreme heat.Above ~ 32 °C, impaired photosynthesis compromises the productivity of rice. We compared leaf tissues from heat-tolerant wild rice (Oryza australiensis) with temperate-adapted O. sativa after sustained exposure to heat, as well as diurnal heat shock. Leaf elongation and shoot biomass in O. australiensis were unimpaired at 45 °C, and soluble sugar concentrations trebled during 10 h of a 45 °C shock treatment. By contrast, 45 °C slowed growth strongly in O. sativa. Chloroplastic CO2 concentrations eliminated CO2 supply to chloroplasts as the basis of differential heat tolerance. This directed our attention to carboxylation and the abundance of the heat-sensitive chaperone Rubisco activase (Rca) in each species. Surprisingly, O. australiensis leaves at 45 °C had 50% less Rca per unit Rubisco, even though CO2 assimilation was faster than at 30 °C. By contrast, Rca per unit Rubisco doubled in O. sativa at 45 °C while CO2 assimilation was slower, reflecting its inferior Rca thermostability. Plants grown at 45 °C were simultaneously exposed to 700 ppm CO2 to enhance the CO2 supply to Rubisco. Growth at 45 °C responded to CO2 enrichment in O. australiensis but not O. sativa, reflecting more robust carboxylation capacity and thermal tolerance in the wild rice relative.

Key messageHeat stress (HS) under well-watered conditions was not detrimental to leaf photosynthesis or yield but modified the elevated CO2 response of photosynthesis and yield in two contrasting wheat cultivars.Climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme events such as heat waves, adversely affecting crop productivity. While positive impacts of elevated carbon dioxide (eCO2) on crop productivity are evident, the interactive effects of eCO2 and environmental stresses are still unclear. To investigate the interactive effects of elevated CO2 and heat stress (HS), we grew two contrasting wheat cultivars, early-maturing Scout and high-tillering Yitpi, under non-limiting water and nutrients at ambient (aCO2, 450 ppm) or elevated (eCO2, 650 ppm) CO2 and 22 °C in the glasshouse. Plants were exposed to two 3-day HS cycles at the vegetative (38.1 °C) and/or flowering (33.5 °C) stage. At aCO2, both wheat cultivars showed similar responses of photosynthesis and mesophyll conductance to temperature and produced similar grain yield. Relative to aCO2, eCO2 enhanced photosynthesis rate and reduced stomatal conductance and maximal carboxylation rate (Vcmax). During HS, high temperature stimulated photosynthesis at eCO2 in both cultivars, while eCO2 stimulated photosynthesis in Scout. Electron transport rate (Jmax) was unaffected by any treatment. eCO2 equally enhanced biomass and grain yield of both cultivars in control, but not HS, plants. HS reduced biomass and yield of Scout at eCO2. Yitpi, the cultivar with higher grain nitrogen, underwent a trade-off between grain yield and nitrogen. In conclusion, eCO2 improved photosynthesis of control and HS wheat, and improved biomass and grain yield of control plants only. Under well-watered conditions, HS was not detrimental to photosynthesis or growth but precluded a yield response to eCO2.

Key messageAlterations in DNA methylation levels of ROS, GA and ABA related gene promoters cause transcriptional changes upon imbibition to induce seed germination in barley seeds exposed to heat stress during grain filling.Environmental changes, especially changes in temperature, during seed development affect germination in several plant species. We have previously shown that heat stress during rice grain filling alters DNA methylation, an epigenetic mark important for gene silencing, regulates transcript levels of phytohormone metabolism genes, and delays seed germination. However, whether this phenomenon is present in other plant species remained to be elucidated. In this study, we compared seeds germination of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) plants grown at 15 °C (control) or 25 °C (heat stress) during grain filling. Heat stress during grain filling significantly promoted seed germination in comparison with the control. The phytohormone gibberellic acid (GA) and reactive oxygen species produced by NADPH oxidases promote seed germination, whereas phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) suppresses seed germination. We found that in heat-stressed seeds, genes related to ABA biosynthesis (HvNCED1 and 2) were significantly suppressed, whereas genes related to ABA catabolism (HvABA8’OH) and GA biosynthesis (HvHA20ox, HvGA3ox), and NADPH oxidase (HvRboh) genes were significantly upregulated after imbibition. Using MeDIP-qPCR, we showed that the promoters of HvNCED were hyper-methylated, and those of HvABA8’OH1, HvABA8’OH3, HvGA3ox2, and HvRbohF2 were hypo-methylated in heat treated seeds. Taken together, our data suggest that heat stress during grain filling affects DNA methylation of germination-related genes and promotes seed germination in barley.