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Title: Acclimation of plant species to elevated CO{sub 2}

Journal Article · · Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America
OSTI ID:95825
;  [1];  [2]
  1. Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV (United States)
  2. Univ. of Nevada, Reno, NV (United States)

Plant species differ in assimilated carbon partitioning between starch, sucrose and hexose sugars. Soluble sugars have been implicated to play a role in downregulating rubisco and other photosynthesis enzymes on the level of transcription. In this study we compared high CO{sub 2} response of plants with different physiology. Cucumber, tobacco and sunflower were chosen as relatively good starch accumulators, spinach and sugar-beet as species with high leaf soluble sugar levels. In addition woody species cottonwood and salt cedar and one C{sub 4} species (corn) were studied. Plants were grown from seed at three CO{sub 2} levels: 330 {mu}bar, 660 {mu}bar and 1500 {mu}bar. Two soil nitrogen levels were used: one that allowed normal growth and the other that caused about 5 times growth suppression. All species except corn (C{sub 4}) showed downregulation of leaf rubisco activity. This downregulation was due to decrease of rubisco content, activation state remaining unchanged. Initial slope of AC{sub i} curve and rubisco activity were in good correlation. Low and high nitrogen plants had similar relative changes in photosynthetic activity. Final harvest onground weight correlated with CO{sub 2} uptake at growth conditions. We concluded that soluble sugars per se do not cause downregulation of leaf photosynthetic activity at high CO{sub 2}.

OSTI ID:
95825
Report Number(s):
CONF-9507129-; ISSN 0012-9623; TRN: 95:004728-0090
Journal Information:
Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, Vol. 76, Issue 2; Conference: 80. anniversary of the transdisciplinary nature of ecology, Snowbird, UT (United States), 30 Jul - 3 Aug 1995; Other Information: PBD: Jun 1995
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English