Elevated carbon dioxide offers promise for wheat adaptation to heat stress by adjusting carbohydrate metabolism

• Published in: Physiology and molecular biology of plants 2021-10, Vol.27 (10), p.2345-2355
• Main Authors: Ulfat, Aneela, Mehmood, Ansar, Ahmad, Khawaja Shafique, Ul-Allah, Sami
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ADP glucose pyrophosphorylase; Antioxidants; Biological and Medical Physics; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biophysics; Carbohydrate metabolism; Carbohydrates; Carbon dioxide; Cell Biology; Climate change; Crop yield; Cultivars; Enzymatic activity; Enzyme activity; Global warming; Glucose; Glutathione; Glutathione reductase; Heat stress; Heat tolerance; High temperature; High temperature effects; Life Sciences; Metabolism; Peroxidase; Photosynthesis; Physiological effects; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; Reductases; Review; Review Article; Sucrose; Superoxide dismutase; Wheat
• ISSN: 0971-5894; 0974-0430
• DOI: 10.1007/s12298-021-01080-5

Carbohydrate metabolism in plants is influenced by thermodynamics. The amount of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in the atmosphere is expected to rise in the future. As a result, understanding the effects of higher CO 2 on carbohydrate metabolism and heat stress tolerance is necessary for anticipating plant responses to global warming and elevated CO 2 . In this study, five wheat cultivars were exposed to heat stress (40 °C) at the onset of anthesis for three continuous days. These cultivars were grown at two levels of CO 2 i.e. ambient CO 2 level (a[CO 2 ], 380 mmol L −1 ) and elevated CO 2 level (e[CO 2 ], 780 mmol L −1 ), to determine the interactive effect of elevated CO 2 and heat stress on carbohydrate metabolism and antioxidant enzyme activity in wheat. Heat stress reduced the photosynthetic rate ( Pn ) and grain yield in all five cultivars, but cultivars grown in e[CO 2 ] sustained Pn and grain yield in contrast to cultivars grown in a[CO 2 ]. Heat stress reduced the activity of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, invertases, Glutathione reductase (GR), Peroxidase (POX), and Superoxide dismutase (SOD) at a[CO 2 ] but increased at e[CO 2 ]. The concentration of sucrose, glucose, and fructose mainly increased in tolerant cultivars under heat stress at e[CO 2 ]. This study confirms the interaction between the heat stress and e[CO2] to mitigate the effect of heat stress on wheat and suggests to have in-depth knowledge and precise understanding of carbohydrate metabolism in heat stressed plants in order to prevent the negative effects of high temperatures on productivity and other physiological attributes.