Mesophyll conductance response to short‐term changes in pCO2 is related to leaf anatomy and biochemistry in diverse C4 grasses

What is it about?

In contrast to C3 plants, little is know about how and why mesophyll conductance (or diffusion of CO2 from intercellular air spaces to the site of fixation in mesophyll cells) of C4 plants responds to short-term changes in environmental conditions. Using 16 diverse C4 grasses, we show for the first time, that C4 mesophyll conductance increases with a short-term decrease in pCO2. The magnitude of this increase in mesophyll conductance varies greatly among the 16 C4 grasses with a greater increase observed in species with relatively thinner mesophyll cell walls and greater photosynthetic capacities. These findings are important for improving C4 photosynthetic models and in attempts to improve plant water-use efficiency through manipulation of gm.

Featured Image