Drivers of Natural Variation in Water-Use Efficiency Under Fluctuating Light Are Promising Targets for Improvement in Sorghum.

ABSTRACT: Improving leaf intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE), the ratio of photosynthetic CO₂ assimilation to stomatal conductance, could decrease crop freshwater consumption. iWUE has primarily been studied under steady-state light, but light in crop stands rapidly fluctuates. Leaf responses to these fluctuations substantially affect overall plant performance. Notably, photosynthesis responds faster than stomata to decreases in light intensity: this desynchronization results in substantial loss of iWUE. Traits that could improve iWUE under fluctuating light, such as faster stomatal movement to better synchronize stomata with photosynthesis, show significant natural diversity in C₃ species. However, C₄ crops have been less closely invest

SUBMITTER: Pignon CP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7882533 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature