Corn-type plants shake off sun protection faster than other plants
Arce Cubas L, Nakamura A, Pereira de Oliveira L, Vath RL, Abrahams RS
Crop Improvement
The corn, sorghum, and sugarcane growing along field edges and in community gardens already have a quick-reset light shield, which helps explain how they keep growing through the flickering shade of passing clouds and leaves.
Plants shield themselves from too much sunlight, then have to turn that shield off when clouds or leaves cast shade. Researchers compared close relatives that use two different ways of capturing carbon, and found the corn-style group turns the shield off faster. Their leaves handle acid buildup and energy production differently, which lets the shield reset quickly.
Key Findings
In paired C3 and C4 species from Alloteropsis, Flaveria, and Cleome, NPQ relaxation was significantly faster in C4 species, controlling for evolutionary distance.
Faster relaxation in C4 leaves came from a larger contribution of energy-dependent quenching (qE) to total NPQ, shown using inhibitor-infiltrated leaves.
Enhanced qE in C4 species is linked to altered lumen pH regulation, with increased cyclic electron flow and membrane proton conductivity to meet higher ATP demand; a meta-analysis supported the C4 speed advantage.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Corn-type (C4) plants switch off their built-in sunscreen faster than most other plants (C3) after a shadow passes, so they waste less light energy. That suggests engineers have less room to speed it up further in C4 crops like corn and sorghum.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Faster relaxation of nonphotochemical quenching in C4 than in C3 species.
Acceleration of photoprotective nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) responses to changes in light intensity has been suggested as a strategy to enhance crop yield. Our current understanding of NPQ ove...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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