Using natural variation to understand the evolutionary pressures on plant photosynthesis

• Published in: Current opinion in plant biology Vol. 49; pp. 68 - 73
• Main Author: Flood, Pádraic J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2019
• Subjects: Agriculture; Biological Evolution; Photosynthesis; Plants
• ISSN: 1369-5266; 1879-0356
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2019.06.001

•Evolution will optimise photosynthesis for fitness rather than productivity.•Variation in leaf level photosynthesis should be viewed in the whole plant context.•Variation needed for adaptation of photosynthesis to future climates exists.•A major selective pressure on photosynthesis is balancing of H2O loss and CO2 uptake.•The evolutionary relevance of identified functional variants in photosynthesis is often unclear. Photosynthesis is the gateway of the Sun’s energy into the biosphere and the source of the ozone layer; thus it is both provider and protector of life as we know it. Despite its pivotal role we know surprisingly little about the genetic basis of variation in photosynthesis and the selective pressures giving rise to or maintaining this variation. In this review, I will briefly summarise our current knowledge of intraspecific and interspecific variation in photosynthesis to understand the main selective constraints on photosynthesis and what this means for the future of nature and agriculture in a changing world.