Increasing atmospheric CO and drought are major symptoms of anthropogenic climate change with profound effects on plant growth. Transgenerational memory (i.e. influence of the parental environment on offspring phenotype and performance) has been suggested as a relevant mechanism for plants to build-up adaptative capacity for rapid environmental changes. However, this mechanism of pre-adaptation remains poorly investigated so far. We investigated intra- and transgenerational effects of elevated CO on drought response of wheat. We used seeds from a FACE (Free Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment) experiment with ambient and elevated CO to grow plants in climate chambers in which we varied CO , atmospheric water demand and soil moisture. We quantified photosynthetic efficiency, stomatal sensitivity and biomass production. We observed intragenerational upregulation of photosynthetic efficiency but transgenerational downregulation of photosynthetic efficiency, stomatal sensitivity and water use efficiency as response to maternally elevated CO . Plant biomass was affected by drought and experimental CO but not by maternal CO . Our study showcases the importance of transgenerational memory effects when studying climate change response of plants and could have major implications for our understanding of global dynamics of carbon sequestration. It highlights the pressing need for multi-generational experiments accounting for transgenerational memory effects of elevated CO .
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.