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Sage RF, Gilman IS, Smith JAC, Silvera K, Edwards EJ. Atmospheric CO2 decline and the timing of CAM plant evolution. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2023; 132:753-770. [PMID: 37642245 PMCID: PMC10799994 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcad122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Revised: 08/19/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS CAM photosynthesis is hypothesized to have evolved in atmospheres of low CO2 concentration in recent geological time because of its ability to concentrate CO2 around Rubisco and boost water use efficiency relative to C3 photosynthesis. We assess this hypothesis by compiling estimates of when CAM clades arose using phylogenetic chronograms for 73 CAM clades. We further consider evidence of how atmospheric CO2 affects CAM relative to C3 photosynthesis. RESULTS Where CAM origins can be inferred, strong CAM is estimated to have appeared in the past 30 million years in 46 of 48 examined clades, after atmospheric CO2 had declined from high (near 800 ppm) to lower (<450 ppm) values. In turn, 21 of 25 clades containing CAM species (but where CAM origins are less certain) also arose in the past 30 million years. In these clades, CAM is probably younger than the clade origin. We found evidence for repeated weak CAM evolution during the higher CO2 conditions before 30 million years ago, and possible strong CAM origins in the Crassulaceae during the Cretaceous period prior to atmospheric CO2 decline. Most CAM-specific clades arose in the past 15 million years, in a similar pattern observed for origins of C4 clades. CONCLUSIONS The evidence indicates strong CAM repeatedly evolved in reduced CO2 conditions of the past 30 million years. Weaker CAM can pre-date low CO2 and, in the Crassulaceae, strong CAM may also have arisen in water-limited microsites under relatively high CO2. Experimental evidence from extant CAM species demonstrates that elevated CO2 reduces the importance of nocturnal CO2 fixation by increasing the contribution of C3 photosynthesis to daily carbon gain. Thus, the advantage of strong CAM would be reduced in high CO2, such that its evolution appears less likely and restricted to more extreme environments than possible in low CO2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rowan F Sage
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - Ian S Gilman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - J Andrew C Smith
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3RB, UK
| | - Katia Silvera
- Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | - Erika J Edwards
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
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2
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Wang Y, Smith JAC, Zhu XG, Long SP. Rethinking the potential productivity of crassulacean acid metabolism by integrating metabolic dynamics with shoot architecture, using the example of Agave tequilana. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 239:2180-2196. [PMID: 37537720 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 06/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023]
Abstract
Terrestrial CAM plants typically occur in hot semiarid regions, yet can show high crop productivity under favorable conditions. To achieve a more mechanistic understanding of CAM plant productivity, a biochemical model of diel metabolism was developed and integrated with 3-D shoot morphology to predict the energetics of light interception and photosynthetic carbon assimilation. Using Agave tequilana as an example, this biochemical model faithfully simulated the four diel phases of CO2 and metabolite dynamics during the CAM rhythm. After capturing the 3-D form over an 8-yr production cycle, a ray-tracing method allowed the prediction of the light microclimate across all photosynthetic surfaces. Integration with the biochemical model thereby enabled the simulation of plant and stand carbon uptake over daily and annual courses. The theoretical maximum energy conversion efficiency of Agave spp. is calculated at 0.045-0.049, up to 7% higher than for C3 photosynthesis. Actual light interception, and biochemical and anatomical limitations, reduced this to 0.0069, or 15.6 Mg ha-1 yr-1 dry mass annualized over an 8-yr cropping cycle, consistent with observation. This is comparable to the productivity of many C3 crops, demonstrating the potential of CAM plants in climates where little else may be grown while indicating strategies that could raise their productivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Wang
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 W. Gregory Dr., Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - J Andrew C Smith
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3RB, UK
| | - Xin-Guang Zhu
- Key Laboratory for Plant Molecular Genetics, Center of Excellence for Molecular, Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Stephen P Long
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 W. Gregory Dr., Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3RB, UK
- Departments of Plant Biology and of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 505 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
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3
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Fradera-Soler M, Mravec J, Harholt J, Grace OM, Jørgensen B. Cell wall polysaccharide and glycoprotein content tracks growth-form diversity and an aridity gradient in the leaf-succulent genus Crassula. PHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM 2023; 175:e14007. [PMID: 37882271 DOI: 10.1111/ppl.14007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023]
Abstract
Cell wall traits are believed to be a key component of the succulent syndrome, an adaptive syndrome to drought, yet the variability of such traits remains largely unknown. In this study, we surveyed the leaf polysaccharide and glycoprotein composition in a wide sampling of Crassula species that occur naturally along an aridity gradient in southern Africa, and we interpreted its adaptive significance in relation to growth form and arid adaptation. To study the glycomic diversity, we sampled leaf material from 56 Crassula taxa and performed comprehensive microarray polymer profiling to obtain the relative content of cell wall polysaccharides and glycoproteins. This analysis was complemented by the determination of monosaccharide composition and immunolocalization in leaf sections using glycan-targeting antibodies. We found that compact and non-compact Crassula species occupy distinct phenotypic spaces in terms of leaf glycomics, particularly in regard to rhamnogalacturonan I, its arabinan side chains, and arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs). Moreover, these cell wall components also correlated positively with increasing aridity, which suggests that they are likely advantageous in terms of arid adaptation. These differences point to compact Crassula species having more elastic cell walls with plasticizing properties, which can be interpreted as an adaptation toward increased drought resistance. Furthermore, we report an intracellular pool of AGPs associated with oil bodies and calcium oxalate crystals, which could be a peculiarity of Crassula and could be linked to increased drought resistance. Our results indicate that glycomics may be underlying arid adaptation and drought resistance in succulent plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc Fradera-Soler
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
- Royal Botanic Gardens, London, UK
| | - Jozef Mravec
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
- Plant Science and Biodiversity Center, Institute of Plant Genetics and Biotechnology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Nitra, Slovakia
| | | | - Olwen M Grace
- Royal Botanic Gardens, London, UK
- Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Bodil Jørgensen
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
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4
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Lima JF, Boanares D, Costa VE, Moreira ASFP. Do photosynthetic metabolism and habitat influence foliar water uptake in orchids? PLANT BIOLOGY (STUTTGART, GERMANY) 2023; 25:257-267. [PMID: 36546714 DOI: 10.1111/plb.13499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Epiphytic and rupicolous plants inhabit environments with limited water resources. Such plants commonly use Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM), a photosynthetic pathway that accumulates organic acids in cell vacuoles at night, so reducing their leaf water potential and favouring water absorption. Foliar water uptake (FWU) aids plant survival during drought events in environments with high water deficits. We hypothesized that FWU represents a strategy employed by epiphytic and rupicolous orchids for water acquisition and that CAM will favour increased water absorption. We examined 6 epiphyte, 4 terrestrial and 6 rupicolous orchids that use C3 (n = 9) or CAM (n = 7) pathways. Five individuals per species were used to evaluate FWU, structural characteristics and leaf water balance. Rupicolous species with C3 metabolism had higher FWU than other species. FWU (Cmax and k) could be related to succulence, SLM and leaf RWC. The results indicated that high orchid leaf densities favoured FWU, as area available for water storage increases with leaf density. Structural characteristics linked to water storage (e.g. high RWC, succulence), on the other hand, could limit leaf water absorption by favouring high internal leaf water potentials. Epiphytic, rupicolous and terrestrial orchids showed FWU. Rupicolous species had high levels of FWU, probably through absorption from mist. However, succulence in plants with CAM appears to mitigate FWU.
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Affiliation(s)
- J F Lima
- Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil
| | - D Boanares
- Instituto Tecnológico Vale, Desenvolvimento Sustentável, Belém, Brazil
| | - V E Costa
- Instituto de Biociências, Centro de Isótopos Estáveis Prof. Dr. Carlos Ducatti, Botucatu, Brazil
| | - A S F P Moreira
- Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil
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5
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Moreno-Villena JJ, Zhou H, Gilman IS, Tausta SL, Cheung CYM, Edwards EJ. Spatial resolution of an integrated C 4+CAM photosynthetic metabolism. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabn2349. [PMID: 35930634 PMCID: PMC9355352 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abn2349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
C4 and CAM photosynthesis have repeatedly evolved in plants over the past 30 million years. Because both repurpose the same set of enzymes but differ in their spatial and temporal deployment, they have long been considered as distinct and incompatible adaptations. Portulaca contains multiple C4 species that perform CAM when droughted. Spatially explicit analyses of gene expression reveal that C4 and CAM systems are completely integrated in Portulaca oleracea, with CAM and C4 carbon fixation occurring in the same cells and CAM-generated metabolites likely incorporated directly into the C4 cycle. Flux balance analysis corroborates the gene expression findings and predicts an integrated C4+CAM system under drought. This first spatially explicit description of a C4+CAM photosynthetic metabolism presents a potential new blueprint for crop improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose J. Moreno-Villena
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, P.O. Box 208106, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Haoran Zhou
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, P.O. Box 208106, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
- School of Earth System Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Ian S. Gilman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, P.O. Box 208106, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - S. Lori Tausta
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, 600 West Campus, West Haven, CT 06516, USA
| | | | - Erika J. Edwards
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, P.O. Box 208106, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
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6
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Winter K, Smith JAC. CAM photosynthesis: the acid test. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2022; 233:599-609. [PMID: 34637529 PMCID: PMC9298356 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
There is currently considerable interest in the prospects for bioengineering crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) photosynthesis - or key elements associated with it, such as increased water-use efficiency - into C3 plants. Resolving how CAM photosynthesis evolved from the ancestral C3 pathway could provide valuable insights into the targets for such bioengineering efforts. It has been proposed that the ability to accumulate organic acids at night may be common among C3 plants, and that the transition to CAM might simply require enhancement of pre-existing fluxes, without the need for changes in circadian or diurnal regulation. We show, in a survey encompassing 40 families of vascular plants, that nocturnal acidification is a feature entirely restricted to CAM species. Although many C3 species can synthesize malate during the light period, we argue that the switch to night-time malic acid accumulation requires a fundamental metabolic reprogramming that couples glycolytic breakdown of storage carbohydrate to the process of net dark CO2 fixation. This central element of the CAM pathway, even when expressed at a low level, represents a biochemical capability not seen in C3 plants, and so is better regarded as a discrete evolutionary innovation than as part of a metabolic continuum between C3 and CAM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaus Winter
- Smithsonian Tropical Research InstitutePO Box 0843‐03092BalboaAncónRepublic of Panama
| | - J. Andrew C. Smith
- Department of Plant SciencesUniversity of OxfordSouth Parks RoadOxfordOX1 3RBUK
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7
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Ceusters N, Borland AM, Ceusters J. How to resolve the enigma of diurnal malate remobilisation from the vacuole in plants with crassulacean acid metabolism? THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 229:3116-3124. [PMID: 33159327 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Opening of stomata in plants with crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) is mainly shifted to the night period when atmospheric CO2 is fixed by phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and stored as malic acid in the vacuole. As such, CAM plants ameliorate transpirational water losses and display substantially higher water-use efficiency compared with C3 and C4 plants. In the past decade significant technical advances have allowed an unprecedented exploration of genomes, transcriptomes, proteomes and metabolomes of CAM plants and efforts are ongoing to engineer the CAM pathway in C3 plants. Whilst research efforts have traditionally focused on nocturnal carboxylation, less information is known regarding the drivers behind diurnal malate remobilisation from the vacuole that liberates CO2 to be fixed by RuBisCo behind closed stomata. To shed more light on this process, we provide a stoichiometric analysis to identify potentially rate-limiting steps underpinning diurnal malate mobilisation and help direct future research efforts. Within this remit we address three key questions: Q1 Does light-dependent assimilation of CO2 via RuBisCo dictate the rate of malate mobilisation? Q2: Do the enzymes responsible for malate decarboxylation limit daytime mobilisation from the vacuole? Q3: Does malate efflux from the vacuole set the pace of decarboxylation?
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie Ceusters
- Faculty of Engineering Technology, Department of Biosystems, Division of Crop Biotechnics, Campus Geel, KU Leuven, Kleinhoefstraat 4, Geel, 2440, Belgium
| | - Anne M Borland
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne,, NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Johan Ceusters
- Faculty of Engineering Technology, Department of Biosystems, Division of Crop Biotechnics, Campus Geel, KU Leuven, Kleinhoefstraat 4, Geel, 2440, Belgium
- Centre for Environmental Sciences, Environmental Biology, UHasselt, Campus Diepenbeek, Agoralaan Building D, Diepenbeek, 3590, Belgium
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8
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Ferrari RC, Bittencourt PP, Rodrigues MA, Moreno-Villena JJ, Alves FRR, Gastaldi VD, Boxall SF, Dever LV, Demarco D, Andrade SCS, Edwards EJ, Hartwell J, Freschi L. C 4 and crassulacean acid metabolism within a single leaf: deciphering key components behind a rare photosynthetic adaptation. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2020; 225:1699-1714. [PMID: 31610019 DOI: 10.1111/nph.16265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2019] [Accepted: 10/07/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Although biochemically related, C4 and crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) systems are expected to be incompatible. However, Portulaca species, including P. oleracea, operate C4 and CAM within a single leaf, and the mechanisms behind this unique photosynthetic arrangement remain largely unknown. Here, we employed RNA-seq to identify candidate genes involved exclusively or shared by C4 or CAM, and provided an in-depth characterization of their transcript abundance patterns during the drought-induced photosynthetic transitions in P. oleracea. Data revealed fewer candidate CAM-specific genes than those recruited to function in C4 . The putative CAM-specific genes were predominantly involved in night-time primary carboxylation reactions and malate movement across the tonoplast. Analysis of gene transcript-abundance regulation and photosynthetic physiology indicated that C4 and CAM coexist within a single P. oleracea leaf under mild drought conditions. Developmental and environmental cues were shown to regulate CAM expression in stems, whereas the shift from C4 to C4 -CAM hybrid photosynthesis in leaves was strictly under environmental control. Moreover, efficient starch turnover was identified as part of the metabolic adjustments required for CAM operation in both organs. These findings provide insights into C4 /CAM connectivity and compatibility, contributing to a deeper understanding of alternative ways to engineer CAM into C4 crop species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renata C Ferrari
- Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brasil
| | - Priscila P Bittencourt
- Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brasil
| | - Maria A Rodrigues
- Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brasil
| | - Jose J Moreno-Villena
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, PO Box 208105, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
| | - Frederico R R Alves
- Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brasil
| | - Vinícius D Gastaldi
- Departamento e Instituto de Psiquiatria, Hospital das Clínicas (HCFMUSP), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 05403-903, Brasil
| | - Susanna F Boxall
- Department of Functional and Comparative Genomics, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, UK
| | - Louisa V Dever
- Department of Functional and Comparative Genomics, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, UK
| | - Diego Demarco
- Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brasil
| | - Sónia C S Andrade
- Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brasil
| | - Erika J Edwards
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, PO Box 208105, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
| | - James Hartwell
- Department of Functional and Comparative Genomics, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, UK
| | - Luciano Freschi
- Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brasil
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Wai CM, VanBuren R, Zhang J, Huang L, Miao W, Edger PP, Yim WC, Priest HD, Meyers BC, Mockler T, Smith JAC, Cushman JC, Ming R. Temporal and spatial transcriptomic and microRNA dynamics of CAM photosynthesis in pineapple. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2017; 92:19-30. [PMID: 28670834 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.13630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2017] [Revised: 06/20/2017] [Accepted: 06/23/2017] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
The altered carbon assimilation pathway of crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) photosynthesis results in an up to 80% higher water-use efficiency than C3 photosynthesis in plants making it a potentially useful pathway for engineering crop plants with improved drought tolerance. Here we surveyed detailed temporal (diel time course) and spatial (across a leaf gradient) gene and microRNA (miRNA) expression patterns in the obligate CAM plant pineapple [Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.]. The high-resolution transcriptome atlas allowed us to distinguish between CAM-related and non-CAM gene copies. A differential gene co-expression network across green and white leaf diel datasets identified genes with circadian oscillation, CAM-related functions, and source-sink relations. Gene co-expression clusters containing CAM pathway genes are enriched with clock-associated cis-elements, suggesting circadian regulation of CAM. About 20% of pineapple microRNAs have diel expression patterns, with several that target key CAM-related genes. Expression and physiology data provide a model for CAM-specific carbohydrate flux and long-distance hexose transport. Together these resources provide a list of candidate genes for targeted engineering of CAM into C3 photosynthesis crop species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ching M Wai
- FAFU and UIUC Joint Center for Genomics and Biotechnology, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, Key Laboratory of Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Corps, Ministry of Education, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, China
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Robert VanBuren
- FAFU and UIUC Joint Center for Genomics and Biotechnology, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, Key Laboratory of Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Corps, Ministry of Education, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, China
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48823, USA
| | - Jisen Zhang
- FAFU and UIUC Joint Center for Genomics and Biotechnology, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, Key Laboratory of Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Corps, Ministry of Education, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, China
| | - Lixian Huang
- FAFU and UIUC Joint Center for Genomics and Biotechnology, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, Key Laboratory of Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Corps, Ministry of Education, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, China
| | - Wenjing Miao
- FAFU and UIUC Joint Center for Genomics and Biotechnology, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, Key Laboratory of Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Corps, Ministry of Education, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, China
| | - Patrick P Edger
- Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48823, USA
| | - Won C Yim
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, MS330, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, 89557-0330, USA
| | - Henry D Priest
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Blake C Meyers
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Todd Mockler
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - J Andrew C Smith
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3RB, UK
| | - John C Cushman
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, MS330, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, 89557-0330, USA
| | - Ray Ming
- FAFU and UIUC Joint Center for Genomics and Biotechnology, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, Key Laboratory of Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Corps, Ministry of Education, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, China
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
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10
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Pereira PN, Smith JAC, Mercier H. Nitrate enhancement of CAM activity in two Kalanchoë species is associated with increased vacuolar proton transport capacity. PHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM 2017; 160:361-372. [PMID: 28393374 DOI: 10.1111/ppl.12578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2016] [Revised: 02/24/2017] [Accepted: 03/05/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Among species that perform CAM photosynthesis, members of the genus Kalanchoë have been studied frequently to investigate the effect of environmental factors on the magnitude of CAM activity. In particular, different nitrogen sources have been shown to influence the rate of nocturnal CO2 fixation and organic-acid accumulation in several species of Kalanchoë. However, there has been little investigation of the interrelationship between nitrogen source (nitrate versus ammonium), concentration and the activity of the vacuolar proton pumps responsible for driving nocturnal organic-acid accumulation in these species. In the present study with Kalanchoë laxiflora and Kalanchoë delagoensis cultivated on different nitrogen sources, both species were found to show highest total nocturnal organic-acid accumulation and highest rates of ATP- and PPi-dependent vacuolar proton transport on 2.5 mM nitrate, whereas plants cultivated on 5.0 mM ammonium showed the lowest values. In both species malate was the principal organic-acid accumulated during the night, but the second-most accumulated organic-acid was fumarate for K. laxiflora and citrate for K. delagoensis. Higher ATP- and PPi-dependent vacuolar proton transport rates and greater nocturnal acid accumulation were observed in K. delagoensis compared with K. laxiflora. These results show that the effect of nitrogen source on CAM activity in Kalanchoë species is reflected in corresponding differences in activity of the tonoplast proton pumps responsible for driving sequestration of these acids in the vacuole of CAM-performing cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Natália Pereira
- Department of Botany, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brazil
| | | | - Helenice Mercier
- Department of Botany, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brazil
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11
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Magill CR, Ashley GM, Domínguez-Rodrigo M, Freeman KH. Dietary options and behavior suggested by plant biomarker evidence in an early human habitat. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:2874-9. [PMID: 26903646 PMCID: PMC4801266 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1507055113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The availability of plants and freshwater shapes the diets and social behavior of chimpanzees, our closest living relative. However, limited evidence about the spatial relationships shared between ancestral human (hominin) remains, edible resources, refuge, and freshwater leaves the influence of local resources on our species' evolution open to debate. Exceptionally well-preserved organic geochemical fossils--biomarkers--preserved in a soil horizon resolve different plant communities at meter scales across a contiguous 25,000 m(2) archaeological land surface at Olduvai Gorge from about 2 Ma. Biomarkers reveal hominins had access to aquatic plants and protective woods in a patchwork landscape, which included a spring-fed wetland near a woodland that both were surrounded by open grassland. Numerous cut-marked animal bones are located within the wooded area, and within meters of wetland vegetation delineated by biomarkers for ferns and sedges. Taken together, plant biomarkers, clustered bone debris, and hominin remains define a clear spatial pattern that places animal butchery amid the refuge of an isolated forest patch and near freshwater with diverse edible resources.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gail M Ashley
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854
| | | | - Katherine H Freeman
- Department of Geosciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
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Winter K, Holtum JAM, Smith JAC. Crassulacean acid metabolism: a continuous or discrete trait? THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2015; 208:73-8. [PMID: 25975197 DOI: 10.1111/nph.13446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2015] [Accepted: 03/22/2015] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The key components of crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) - nocturnal fixation of atmospheric CO2 and its processing via Rubisco in the subsequent light period - are now reasonably well understood in terms of the biochemical reactions defining this water-saving mode of carbon assimilation. Phenotypically, however, the degree to which plants engage in the CAM cycle relative to regular C3 photosynthesis is highly variable. Depending upon species, ontogeny and environment, the contribution of nocturnal CO2 fixation to 24-h carbon gain can range continuously from close to 0% to 100%. Nevertheless, not all possible combinations of light and dark CO2 fixation appear equally common. Large-scale surveys of carbon-isotope ratios typically show a strongly bimodal frequency distribution, with relatively few intermediate values. Recent research has revealed that many species capable of low-level CAM activity are nested within the peak of C3 -type isotope signatures. While questions remain concerning the adaptive significance of dark CO2 fixation in such species, plants with low-level CAM should prove valuable models for investigating the discrete changes in genetic architecture and gene expression that have enabled the evolutionary transition from C3 to CAM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaus Winter
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, PO Box 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Republic of Panama
| | - Joseph A M Holtum
- Centre for Tropical Biodiversity and Climate Change, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia
| | - J Andrew C Smith
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3RB, UK
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Chen LS, Nose A. Day-night changes of energy-rich compounds in crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) species utilizing hexose and starch. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2004; 94:449-55. [PMID: 15277250 PMCID: PMC4242190 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mch165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Plants with crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) can be divided into two groups according to the major carbohydrates used for malic acid synthesis, either polysaccharide (starch) or monosaccharide (hexose). This is related to the mechanism and affects energy metabolism in the two groups. In Kalanchoë pinnata and K. daigremontiana, which utilize starch, ATP-dependent phosphofructokinase (tonoplast inorganic pyrophosphatase) activity is greater than inorganic pyrophosphate-dependent phosphofructokinase (tonoplast adenosine triphosphatase) activity, but the reverse is the case in pineapple (Ananas comosus) utilizing hexose. To test the hypothesis that the energy metabolism of the two groups differs, day-night changes in the contents of ATP, ADP, AMP, inorganic phosphate (Pi), phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) and inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi) in K. pinnata and K. daigremontiana leaves and in pineapple chlorenchyma were analysed. METHODS The contents of energy-rich compounds were measured spectrophotometrically in extracts of tissue sampled in the light and dark, using potted plants, kept for 15 d before the experiments in a growth chamber. KEY RESULTS In the three species, ATP content and adenylate energy charge (AEC) increased in the dark and decreased in the light, in contrast to ADP and AMP. Changes in ATP and AEC were greater in Kalanchoë leaves than in pineapple chlorenchyma. PPi content in the three species increased in the dark, but on illumination it decreased rapidly and substantially, remaining little changed through the rest of the light period. Pi content of Kalanchoë leaves did not change between dark and light, whereas Pi in pineapple chlorenchyma increased in the dark and decreased in the light, and the changes were far greater than in Kalanchoë leaves. Light-dark changes in PEP content in the three species were similar. CONCLUSIONS These results corroborate our hypothesis that day-night changes in the contents of energy-rich compounds differ between CAM species and are related to the carbohydrate used for malic acid synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Song Chen
- College of Horticulture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, PR China.
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Hafke JB, Hafke Y, Smith JAC, Lüttge U, Thiel G. Vacuolar malate uptake is mediated by an anion-selective inward rectifier. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2003; 35:116-28. [PMID: 12834407 DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-313x.2003.01781.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Electrophysiological studies using the patch-clamp technique were performed on isolated vacuoles from leaf mesophyll cells of the crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plant Kalanchoë daigremontiana to characterize the malate transport system responsible for nocturnal malic acid accumulation. In the presence of malate on both sides of the membrane, the current-voltage relations of the tonoplast were dominated by a strongly inward-rectifying anion-selective channel that was active at cytoplasmic-side negative voltages. Rectification of the macroscopic conductance was reflected in the voltage-dependent gating of a 3-pS malate-selective ion channel, which showed a half-maximal open probability at -43 mV. Also, the time-averaged unitary currents following a step to a negative voltage corresponded to the time-dependent kinetics of the macroscopic currents, suggesting that the activity of this channel underlies the anion-selective inward rectifier. The inward rectifier showed saturation kinetics with respect to malate (apparent Km of 2.5 mm malate2- activity), a selectivity sequence of fumarate2- > malate2- > Cl- > maleate2- approximately citrate3-, and greater activity at higher pH values (with an apparent pK of 7.1 and maximum activity at around pH 8.0). All these properties were in close agreement with the characteristics of malate transport observed in isolated tonoplast vesicles. Further, 100 microM niflumate reversibly blocked the activity of the 3-pS channel and inhibited both macroscopic currents and malate transport into tonoplast vesicles to the same extent. The macroscopic current densities recorded at physiological voltages and the estimated channel density of 0.2 microm-2 are sufficient to account for the observed rates of nocturnal malic acid accumulation in this CAM plant, suggesting that the 3-pS, inward-rectifying, anion-selective channel represents the principal pathway for malate influx into the vacuole.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jens B Hafke
- Institut für Botanik, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
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Dodd AN, Borland AM, Haslam RP, Griffiths H, Maxwell K. Crassulacean acid metabolism: plastic, fantastic. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2002; 53:569-580. [PMID: 11886877 DOI: 10.1093/jexbot/53.369.569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The occurrence, activity and plasticity of the CAM pathway is described from an introductory viewpoint, framed by the use of the four "Phases" of CAM as comparative indicators of the interplay between environmental constraints and internal molecular and biochemical regulation. Having described a number of "rules" which seem to govern the CAM cycle and apply uniformly to most species, a number of key regulatory points can then be identified. These include temporal separation of carboxylases, based on the circadian expression of key genes and their control by metabolites. The role of a circadian oscillator and interplay between tonoplast and nuclear control are central to maintaining the CAM cycle. Control of reserve carbohydrates is often neglected, but the importance of daily partitioning (for growth and the subsequent night-time CAM activity) and use at night is shown to drive the CAM cycle. Finally, it is shown that the genotypic and phenotypic plasticity in patterns of CAM expression is mediated partly by environmental conditions and molecular signalling, but also by diffusive constraints in succulent tissues. A transformation system is now required to allow these key areas of control to be elucidated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antony N Dodd
- Department of Plant Sciences, Downing Street, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK
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Bartholomew DM, Rees DJ, Rambaut A, Smith JA. Isolation and sequence analysis of a cDNA encoding the c subunit of a vacuolar-type H(+)-ATPase from the CAM plant Kalanchoë daigremontiana. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 1996; 31:435-442. [PMID: 8756609 DOI: 10.1007/bf00021806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
We report the sequence of a cDNA clone encoding the c ("16 kDa') subunit of a vacuolar-type H(+)-ATPase (V-ATPase) from Kalanchoë daigremontiana, a plant in which the cell vacuole plays a pivotal role in crassulacean acid metabolism. The clone, pKVA211, was isolated from a K. daigremontiana leaf cDNA library constructed in lambda ZAP II using a homologous PCR-generated cDNA probe for the V-ATPase c subunit. The KVA211 cDNA was 839 nucleotides long and included a 20 bp poly(A)+ tail together with a complete 495 bp coding region for a polypeptide with a predicted molecular mass of 16659 Da. The deduced amino acid sequence was highly conserved across the wide range of eukaryotes (vertebrates, invertebrates, fungi, plants and protozoa) in which this gene has now been identified. Sequence comparison of several PCR products and genomic Southern analysis indicated that the V-ATPase c subunit in K. daigremontiana is encoded by a small multi-gene family. Steady-state levels of the KVA211 mRNA were much higher in leaves than in roots or flowers, and expression of this transcript in leaves was shown to be strongly light-dependent.
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