Modeling studies have predicted that coffee crop will be endangered by future global warming, but recent reports highlighted that high [CO2] can mitigate heat impacts on coffee. This work aimed at identifying heat protective mechanisms promoted by CO2 in Coffea arabica (cv. Icatu and IPR108) and Coffea canephora cv. Conilon CL153. Plants were grown at 25/20°C (day/night), under 380 or 700 μL CO2 L−1, and then gradually submitted to 31/25, 37/30, and 42/34°C. Relevant heat tolerance up to 37/30°C for both [CO2] and all coffee genotypes was observed, likely supported by the maintenance or increase of the pools of several protective molecules (neoxanthin, lutein, carotenes, α-tocopherol, HSP70, raffinose), activities of antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR), catalase (CAT), and the upregulated expression of some genes (ELIP, Chaperonin 20). However, at 42/34°C a tolerance threshold was reached, mostly in the 380-plants and Icatu. Adjustments in raffinose, lutein, β-carotene, α-tocopherol and HSP70 pools, and the upregulated expression of genes related to protective (ELIPS, HSP70, Chape 20, and 60) and antioxidant (CAT, CuSOD2, APX Cyt, APX Chl) proteins were largely driven by temperature. However, enhanced [CO2] maintained higher activities of GR (Icatu) and CAT (Icatu and IPR108), kept (or even increased) the Cu,Zn-SOD, APX, and CAT activities, and promoted a greater upregulation of those enzyme genes, as well as those related to HSP70, ELIPs, Chaperonins in CL153, and Icatu. These changes likely favored the maintenance of reactive oxygen species (ROS) at controlled levels and contributed to mitigate of photosystem II photoinhibition at the highest temperature. Overall, our results highlighted the important role of enhanced [CO2] on the coffee crop acclimation and sustainability under predicted future global warming scenarios.

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Climate changes, mostly related to high temperature, are predicted to have major negative impacts on coffee crop yield and bean quality. Recent studies revealed that elevated air [CO2] mitigates the impact of heat on leaf physiology. However, the extent of the interaction between elevated air [CO2] and heat on coffee bean quality was never addressed. In this study, the single and combined impacts of enhanced [CO2] and temperature in beans of Coffea arabica cv. Icatu were evaluated. Plants were grown at 380 or 700 μL CO2 L-1 air, and then submitted to a gradual temperature rise from 25°C up to 40°C during ca. 4 months. Fruits were harvested at 25°C, and in the ranges of 30–35 or 36–40°C, and bean physical and chemical attributes with potential implications on quality were then examined. These included: color, phenolic content, soluble solids, chlorogenic, caffeic and p-coumaric acids, caffeine, trigonelline, lipids, and minerals. Most of these parameters were mainly affected by temperature (although without a strong negative impact on bean quality), and only marginally, if at all, by elevated [CO2]. However, the [CO2] vs. temperature interaction strongly attenuated some of the negative impacts promoted by heat (e.g., total chlorogenic acids), thus maintaining the bean characteristics closer to those obtained under adequate temperature conditions (e.g., soluble solids, caffeic and p-coumaric acids, trigonelline, chroma, Hue angle, and color index), and increasing desirable features (acidity). Fatty acid and mineral pools remained quite stable, with only few modifications due to elevated air [CO2] (e.g., phosphorous) and/or heat. In conclusion, exposure to high temperature in the last stages of fruit maturation did not strongly depreciate bean quality, under the conditions of unrestricted water supply and moderate irradiance. Furthermore, the superimposition of elevated air [CO2] contributed to preserve bean quality by modifying and mitigating the heat impact on physical and chemical traits of coffee beans, which is clearly relevant in a context of predicted climate change and global warming scenarios.

During the last few decades, there has been considerable concern over the depletion of stratospheric ozone as a result of anthropogenic pollutants. This has resulted in a concomitant increase in solar ultraviolet-B radiation (280-320 nm). High levels of UV-B radiation are responsible for multiple biologically harmful effects in both plants and animals. Many different plant responses to supplemental UV-B radiation have been observed, mostly injurious but sometimes beneficial. UV-B can influence plant processes either through direct damage or via various regulatory effects. In plants, direct effects include DNA damage, membrane changes and protein denaturation, which often cause heritable mutations affecting various physiological processes, including the photosynthetic apparatus. These could adversely affect plant growth, development and morphology, especially the productivity of sensitive crop species. This paper reviews the current knowledge about the plant physiological responses to UV-B stress.

The chemical parameters pH, soluble solids, caffeine, trigonelline, total chlorogenic acids, total caffeoylquinic acids, 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid, 4-O-caffeoylquinic acid, 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid, total dicaffeoylquinic acids, 3,4-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 3,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 4,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid, total feruloylquinic acids, 3-Oferuloylquinic acid, and 5-O-feruloylquinic acid were measured in Arabica (C. arabica)and Robusta (C. canephora) green coffees in order to determine discrimination parameters. In general, Robusta green coffee showed higher values for pH, soluble solids, caffeine, total caffeoylquinic acids, total dicaffeoylquinic acid, and total feruloylquinic acid, but the content of soluble solids was not significantly different in both species of green coffee. Through application of a multivariate analysis, it was concluded that these chemicals form three clusters, being the group of caffeine, trigonelline, 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid, 4-O-caffeoylquinic acid, 3-O-feruloylquinic acid, 5-O-feruloylquinic acid, 3,4-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 3,5-Odicaffeoylquinic acid, and 4,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid highly discriminating for Arabica and Robusta green coffees.