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Temperature response of photosynthesis in C3, C4, and CAM plants: temperature acclimation and temperature adaptation

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Abstract

Most plants show considerable capacity to adjust their photosynthetic characteristics to their growth temperatures (temperature acclimation). The most typical case is a shift in the optimum temperature for photosynthesis, which can maximize the photosynthetic rate at the growth temperature. These plastic adjustments can allow plants to photosynthesize more efficiently at their new growth temperatures. In this review article, we summarize the basic differences in photosynthetic reactions in C3, C4, and CAM plants. We review the current understanding of the temperature responses of C3, C4, and CAM photosynthesis, and then discuss the underlying physiological and biochemical mechanisms for temperature acclimation of photosynthesis in each photosynthetic type. Finally, we use the published data to evaluate the extent of photosynthetic temperature acclimation in higher plants, and analyze which plant groups (i.e., photosynthetic types and functional types) have a greater inherent ability for photosynthetic acclimation to temperature than others, since there have been reported interspecific variations in this ability. We found that the inherent ability for temperature acclimation of photosynthesis was different: (1) among C3, C4, and CAM species; and (2) among functional types within C3 plants. C3 plants generally had a greater ability for temperature acclimation of photosynthesis across a broad temperature range, CAM plants acclimated day and night photosynthetic process differentially to temperature, and C4 plants was adapted to warm environments. Moreover, within C3 species, evergreen woody plants and perennial herbaceous plants showed greater temperature homeostasis of photosynthesis (i.e., the photosynthetic rate at high-growth temperature divided by that at low-growth temperature was close to 1.0) than deciduous woody plants and annual herbaceous plants, indicating that photosynthetic acclimation would be particularly important in perennial, long-lived species that would experience a rise in growing season temperatures over their lifespan. Interestingly, across growth temperatures, the extent of temperature homeostasis of photosynthesis was maintained irrespective of the extent of the change in the optimum temperature for photosynthesis (T opt), indicating that some plants achieve greater photosynthesis at the growth temperature by shifting T opt, whereas others can also achieve greater photosynthesis at the growth temperature by changing the shape of the photosynthesis–temperature curve without shifting T opt. It is considered that these differences in the inherent stability of temperature acclimation of photosynthesis would be reflected by differences in the limiting steps of photosynthetic rate.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Professor Susanne von Caemmerer and Professor Ichiro Terashima for valuable comments on the manuscript. The experiment on CAM photosynthesis was performed in Professor von Caemmerer’s laboratory. This work was supported by a grant from the Japan Society for the Promotion Science (Postdoctoral Fellowships to W.Y.) and by grants from NSERC, the US Department of Agriculture (#2011-67003-30222), the US Department of Energy, Terrestrial Ecosystem Sciences (#11-DE-SC-0006967) and the US-Israeli Bi-National Science Foundation to D.A.W. and by a grant from CREST, JST, Japan (K.H.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Environment, Health and Field Sciences, Chiba University, Kashiwa-no-ha 6-2-1, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-0882, Japan

    Wataru Yamori

  2. Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Aoba, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan

    Kouki Hikosaka

  3. CREST, JST, Tokyo, Japan

    Kouki Hikosaka

  4. Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada

    Danielle A. Way

  5. Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    Danielle A. Way

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  1. Wataru Yamori
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  2. Kouki Hikosaka
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  3. Danielle A. Way
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Correspondence to Wataru Yamori.

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Yamori, W., Hikosaka, K. & Way, D.A. Temperature response of photosynthesis in C3, C4, and CAM plants: temperature acclimation and temperature adaptation. Photosynth Res 119, 101–117 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-013-9874-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-013-9874-6

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