High light and temperature reduce photosynthetic efficiency through different mechanisms in the C 4 model Setaria viridis

• Published in: Communications biology Vol. 4; no. 1; p. 1092
• Main Authors: Anderson, Cheyenne M, Mattoon, Erin M, Zhang, Ningning, Becker, Eric, McHargue, William, Yang, Jiani, Patel, Dhruv, Dautermann, Oliver, McAdam, Scott A M, Tarin, Tonantzin, Pathak, Sunita, Avenson, Tom J, Berry, Jeffrey, Braud, Maxwell, Niyogi, Krishna K, Wilson, Margaret, Nusinow, Dmitri A, Vargas, Rodrigo, Czymmek, Kirk J, Eveland, Andrea L, Zhang, Ru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 16.09.2021
• Subjects: Carbon - metabolism; Hot Temperature - adverse effects; Light - adverse effects; Photosynthesis - radiation effects; Setaria Plant - metabolism; Setaria Plant - radiation effects; Transcriptome - radiation effects
• ISSN: 2399-3642
• DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02576-2

C plants frequently experience high light and high temperature conditions in the field, which reduce growth and yield. However, the mechanisms underlying these stress responses in C plants have been under-explored, especially the coordination between mesophyll (M) and bundle sheath (BS) cells. We investigated how the C model plant Setaria viridis responded to a four-hour high light or high temperature treatment at photosynthetic, transcriptomic, and ultrastructural levels. Although we observed a comparable reduction of photosynthetic efficiency in high light or high temperature treated leaves, detailed analysis of multi-level responses revealed important differences in key pathways and M/BS specificity responding to high light and high temperature. We provide a systematic analysis of high light and high temperature responses in S. viridis, reveal different acclimation strategies to these two stresses in C plants, discover unique light/temperature responses in C plants in comparison to C plants, and identify potential targets to improve abiotic stress tolerance in C crops.