Regulation of malic-acid metabolism in Crassulacean-acid-metabolism plants in the dark and light: In-vivo evidence from (13)C-labeling patterns after (13)CO 2 fixation

Diversity of CAM plant photosynthesis (crassulacean acid metabolism): a tribute to Barry Osmond

This special issue is a tribute to the Australian plant biologist Professor Charles Barry Osmond - Fellow of the Australian Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society of London, and Leopoldina, the German National Academy of Sciences - and his many contributions to our understanding of the biochemistry and physiological ecology of CAM (crassulacean acid metabolism) photosynthesis. This water-conserving photosynthetic pathway is characterised by nocturnal uptake of atmospheric CO2 and typically enables succulent plants to perform and survive in warm semiarid terrestrial and epiphytic habitats. The idea for this issue is to mark the occasion of Barry's 80th birthday in 2019. The foreword highlights some of his outstanding contributions and introduces the research papers of the special issue.

Nitrate enhancement of CAM activity in two Kalanchoë species is associated with increased vacuolar proton transport capacity

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.

Transcript, protein and metabolite temporal dynamics in the CAM plant Agave

Already a proven mechanism for drought resilience, crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) is a specialized type of photosynthesis that maximizes water-use efficiency by means of an inverse (compared to C₃ and C₄ photosynthesis) day/night pattern of stomatal closure/opening to shift CO₂ uptake to the night, when evapotranspiration rates are low. A systems-level understanding of temporal molecular and metabolic controls is needed to define the cellular behaviour underpinning CAM. Here, we report high-resolution temporal behaviours of transcript, protein and metabolite abundances across a CAM diel cycle and, where applicable, compare the observations to the well-established C₃ model plant Arabidopsis. A mechanistic finding that emerged is that CAM operates with a diel redox poise that is shifted relative to that in Arabidopsis. Moreover, we identify widespread rescheduled expression of genes associated with signal transduction mechanisms that regulate stomatal opening/closing. Controlled production and degradation of transcripts and proteins represents a timing mechanism by which to regulate cellular function, yet knowledge of how this molecular timekeeping regulates CAM is unknown. Here, we provide new insights into complex post-transcriptional and -translational hierarchies that govern CAM in Agave. These data sets provide a resource to inform efforts to engineer more efficient CAM traits into economically valuable C₃ crops.

In situ 13CO2 pulse-labeling in a temperate heathland--development of a mobile multi-plot field setup

RATIONALE

Pulse-labeling with (13)CO2 and the subsequent analysis of (13)C-carbon via isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) have been shown to be an excellent method to investigate the terrestrial carbon cycle. Improving (13)CO2 manipulation experiments will facilitate our understanding of carbon cycling processes.

METHODS

A mobile field setup for in situ (13)CO2 pulse-labeling was developed for low vegetation field experiments. Two pulse-labeling experiments were conducted in a Danish heathland in September 2010 (Exp1) and May 2011 (Exp2). A flow-through system was developed where labeling chambers were supplied with (13)CO2-enriched air from a gas reservoir. Reservoir and chamber air was sampled over the course of the experiments and analyzed for CO2 concentration and isotopic composition on a GasBench II interfaced with an isotope ratio mass spectrometer. The soil CO2 efflux and the atom% excess in soil respiration were assessed after the (13)CO2-pulse to verify the setup performance.

RESULTS

The carbon dioxide concentrations and (13)CO2 enrichments were stable during the experiments. The CO2 concentrations conformed to the aimed values, whereas the (13)CO2 enrichments were lower than expected. The sources of error for the deviation in observed atom% (13)CO2 values are discussed, and a measurement procedure is suggested for samples highly enriched in (13)C by using adjusted resistor settings of the mass spectrometer. However, more work has to be done. Enrichment patterns in soil respiration agree with published observations indicating satisfactory performance of the developed system.

CONCLUSIONS

A mobile flow-through system suitable for continuous in situ (13)CO2 pulse-labeling was successfully developed that is easily applicable in remote natural ecosystems.

Mitochondrial respiration in ME-CAM, PEPCK-CAM, and C₃ succulents: comparative operation of the cytochrome, alternative, and rotenone-resistant pathways

Mitochondria are important in the function and control of Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) during organic acid accumulation at night and acid decarboxylation in the day. In plants of the malic enzyme-(ME) type and the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase- (PEPCK) type, mitochondria may exert their role in the control of the diurnal rhythm of malic and citric acids to a differential degree. In plants of both CAM types, the oxidative capacity of mitochondria, as well as the activity of CAM-linked mitochondrial enzymes, and of the alternative and the rotenone-resistant pathways of substrate oxidation were compared. Furthermore, a C₃ succulent was included, as well as both C₃ and CAM forms of Mesembryanthemum crystallinum during a salt-induced C₃-to-CAM shift. Mitochondria of PEPCK-type CAM plants exhibited a lower activity of malate oxidation, ratio of malate to succinate oxidation, and activity of mitochondrial NAD-ME. With the exception of Kalanchoë daigremontiana, leaf mitochondria of all other CAM species were highly sensitive to cyanide (80-100%), irrespective of the oxidant used. This indicates that the alternative oxidase is not of general importance in CAM. By contrast, rotenone-insensitive substrate oxidation was very high (50-90%) in all CAM species. This is the first comparison of the rotenone-insensitive pathway of respiration in plants with different CAM-types. The results of this study confirm that mitochondria are involved in the control of CAM to different degrees in the two CAM types, and they highlight the multiple roles of mitochondria in CAM.

Discrimination in the dark. Resolving the interplay between metabolic and physical constraints to phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activity during the crassulacean acid metabolism cycle

A model defining carbon isotope discrimination (delta13C) for crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plants was experimentally validated using Kalanchoe daigremontiana. Simultaneous measurements of gas exchange and instantaneous CO2 discrimination (for 13C and 18O) were made from late photoperiod (phase IV of CAM), throughout the dark period (phase I), and into the light (phase II). Measurements of CO2 response curves throughout the dark period revealed changing phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) capacity. These systematic changes in PEPC capacity were tracked by net CO2 uptake, stomatal conductance, and online delta13C signal; all declined at the start of the dark period, then increased to a maximum 2 h before dawn. Measurements of delta13C were higher than predicted from the ratio of intercellular to external CO2 (p(i)/p(a)) and fractionation associated with CO2 hydration and PEPC carboxylations alone, such that the dark period mesophyll conductance, g(i), was 0.044 mol m(-2) s(-1) bar(-1). A higher estimate of g(i) (0.085 mol m(-2) s(-1) bar(-1)) was needed to account for the modeled and measured delta18O discrimination throughout the dark period. The differences in estimates of g(i) from the two isotope measurements, and an offset of -5.5 per thousand between the 18O content of source and transpired water, suggest spatial variations in either CO2 diffusion path length and/or carbonic anhydrase activity, either within individual cells or across a succulent leaf. Our measurements support the model predictions to show that internal CO2 diffusion limitations within CAM leaves increase delta13C discrimination during nighttime CO2 fixation while reducing delta13C during phase IV. When evaluating the phylogenetic distribution of CAM, carbon isotope composition will reflect these diffusive limitations as well as relative contributions from C3 and C4 biochemistry.

Intracellular transport and pathways of carbon flow in plants with crassulacean acid metabolism

The massive daily reciprocal transfer of carbon between acids and carbohydrates that is unique to crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) involves extensive and regulated transport of metabolites between chloroplasts, vacuoles, the cytosol and mitochondria. In this review of the CAM pathways of carbon flow and intracellular transport, we highlight what is known and what has been postulated. For three of the four CAM pathway variants currently known (malic enzyme- or PEP carboxykinase-type decarboxylase, and starch- or soluble sugar-type carbohydrate storage), the mechanisms of intracellular transport are still hypothetical and have yet to be demonstrated experimentally. Even in malic enzyme starch-storing species such as Kalanchoë daigremontiana Hamet et Perr. and Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L., the best-described variants of plants with the second-most common mode of photosynthetic carbon metabolism known, no tonoplast or mitochondrial transporter has been functionally described at a molecular level.

Crassulacean acid metabolism: plastic, fantastic

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.