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Enhanced photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency and increased nitrogen allocation to photosynthetic machinery under cotton domestication

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Abstract

Domestication involves dramatic phenotypic and physiological diversifications due to successive selection by breeders toward high yield and quality. Although photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency (PNUE) is a major trait for understanding leaf nitrogen economy, it is unclear whether PNUE of cotton has been improved under domestication. Here, we investigated the effect of domestication on nitrogen allocation to photosynthetic machinery and PNUE in 25 wild and 37 domesticated cotton genotypes. The results showed that domesticated genotypes had higher nitrogen content per mass (Nm), net photosynthesis under saturated light (Asat), and PNUE but similar nitrogen content per area (Na) compared with wild genotypes. As expected, in both genotypes, PNUE was positively related to Asat but negatively correlated with Na. However, the relative contribution of Asat to PNUE was greater than the contribution from Na. Domesticated genotypes had higher nitrogen allocation to light-harvesting (NL, nitrogen in light-harvesting chlorophyll–protein complex), to bioenergetics (Nb, total nitrogen of cytochrome f, ferredoxin NADP reductase, and the coupling factor), and to Rubisco (Nr) than wild genotypes; however, the two genotype groups did not differ in PNUEp, the ratio of Asat to Np (itself the sum of NL, Nb, and Nr). Our results suggest that more nitrogen allocation to photosynthetic machinery has boosted Asat under cotton domestication. Improving the efficiency of nitrogen use in photosynthetic machinery might be future aim to enhance Asat of cotton.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 31860355; U1903302) and the Plan for Training Youth Innovative Talent in Shihezi University (CXRC201701). The authors also thank the China Scholarship Council (CSC; 201909505015) for funding a joint training PhD; the Macquarie University node of the ARC Centre for Plant Success in Nature & Agriculture (CE200100015) for hosting Z-YL and supporting IJW; Center of Excellence Ecolchange and the European Regional Development Fund for supporting ÜN; and strategic priority research program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDB27020105) and National Science Foundation of China (31870214) to X-GZ.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Oasis Eco-Agriculture, Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Shihezi University, Shihezi, 832003, People’s Republic of China

    Zhang-Ying Lei, Zi-Liang Li, Dong-Sheng Sun, Wang-Feng Zhang & Ya-Li Zhang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, 455000, People’s Republic of China

    Heng Wang, Zhong-Li Zhou & Fang Liu

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, 2109, Australia

    Zhang-Ying Lei, Ian J. Wright & Ning Dong

  4. National Key Laboratory for Plant Molecular Genetics, Center of Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, People’s Republic of China

    Xin-Guang Zhu

  5. Chair of Crop Science and Plant Biology, Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 1, 51006, Tartu, Estonia

    Ülo Niinemets

  6. Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, UK

    Ning Dong

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  1. Zhang-Ying Lei
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  11. Fang Liu
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Contributions

Z-YL, W-FZ, Y-LZ, and FL contributed to the conception and design of the study; HW, Z-LZ, and FL provided study material; the experimental measurement was completed by Z-YL, Z-LL, and D-SS. Z-YL carried out the data analysis and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. IW, X-GZ, ÜN, Y-LZ, FL, and ND contributed to revise subsequent versions. All authors have read and approved the current version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Fang Liu or Ya-Li Zhang.

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Lei, ZY., Wang, H., Wright, I.J. et al. Enhanced photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency and increased nitrogen allocation to photosynthetic machinery under cotton domestication. Photosynth Res 150, 239–250 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-021-00872-w

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