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First published online September 15, 2009; 10.1104/pp.109.144113 Plant Physiology 151:1009-1016 (2009) © 2009 American Society of Plant Biologists
Will Elevated Carbon Dioxide Concentration Amplify the Benefits of Nitrogen Fixation in Legumes?1Environmental Sciences Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973 (A.R.); Department of Plant Biology (E.A.A., A.D.B.L.), Department of Crop Sciences (A.R., E.A.A.), and Institute for Genomic Biology (E.A.A., A.D.B.L.), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801; and Photosynthesis Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service, Urbana, Illinois 61801 (E.A.A.)
Growth at elevated [CO2] stimulates photosynthesis and increases carbon (C) supply in all C3 species. A sustained and maximal stimulation in productivity at elevated [CO2] requires an enhanced nutrient supply to match the increase in C acquisition. The ability of legumes to exchange C for nitrogen (N) with their N2-fixing symbionts has led to the hypothesis that legumes will have a competitive advantage over nonleguminous species when grown at elevated [CO2]. On balance, evidence suggests that in managed systems, legumes are more responsive to elevated [CO2] than other plants (e.g. Ainsworth and Long, 2005
The majority of species capable of forming a symbiotic relationship with N2-fixing bacteria belong to the Leguminosae family, and most of the roughly 20,000 legume species form a relationship with nodule-inducing bacteria, collectively known as rhizobia. The seeds of legumes have a high protein content, and some are also rich in oil. Consequently, legumes are an important source of protein and calories for humans and animals, exemplified by the fact that 25 countries plant 20% to 57% of their arable land with legumes such as Bambara groundnuts (Vigna subterranea), peas (Pisum sativum), beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), and lentils (Lens culinaris; http://faostat.fao.org/; Fig. 1 ). These include countries using intensive farming practices that produce mainly soybean (Glycine max), as well as developing countries where smallholder and subsistence farmers grow a wide variety of species that contribute to local food security. In addition, legumes are important components of animal forage in both temperate and tropical zones (Kretschmer and Pitman, 2001
The formation of a root nodule is preceded by an elaborate molecular courtship and the controlled infection of the plant host cell by rhizobia. Within the root nodule, a bacteroid, containing differentiated rhizobia, is isolated from the host cell by a peribacteroid membrane. In addition to forming and maintaining the root nodule, the host provides the bacteroid with a supply of C to fuel N2 fixation. Suc is delivered to the root nodule via the phloem where it is cleaved by Suc synthase, enters glycolysis, and ultimately provides malate to the bacteroid. The bacteroid returns NH4+ to the host cell, which is assimilated into Gln. Further metabolism into other N-containing transport compounds uses C skeletons furnished by the host, and in the case of N-rich ureides, takes place in adjacent uninfected host cells. Both amides (Gln and Asn) and uriedes are exported from the root nodule via the xylem (Fig. 2 ). Within the bacteroid, malate is oxidized by the Krebs cycle to provide reductant for the nitrogenase complex and for the respiratory chain that fuels the nitrogenase complex with ATP. The outer layer of the root nodule forms a diffusive barrier that limits the entry of O2 and protects the highly sensitive nitrogenase complex from O2 inhibition. However, this barrier also limits the supply of O2 to the bacteroid respiratory chain. The presence of high concentrations of leghemoglobin in the host cell, which gives active nodules their characteristic pink color, increases the flux of O2 through the cytoplasm and controls the concentration of free O2 available to the respiratory chain in the peribacteroid membrane (Crawford et al., 2000
The hypothesis that legumes have an advantage over nonleguminous plants in elevated [CO2] is prevalent in the literature (e.g. Soussana and Hartwig, 1996
In C3 plants, elevated [CO2] increases photosynthesis and decreases stomatal conductance. All other effects at the plant and ecosystem level stem from these two primary responses and the secondary effects they elicit (Ainsworth and Rogers, 2007
In fertilized crops and pasture species, the hypothesis that greater photoassimilate availability at elevated CO2 supports stimulated N2 fixation is broadly supported (e.g. Soussana and Hartwig, 1996
An increase in N2 fixation at elevated [CO2] could result from an increase in nodule size, nodule number per plant, or an increase in specific nitrogenase activity, i.e. the amount of N2 fixed per unit nodule and time (Fig. 3). Increased nodule biomass per plant is commonly reported in leguminous trees (e.g. Schortemeyer et al., 2002
In contrast to N2 fixation in fertilized agricultural environments, N2 fixation in natural ecosystems is not consistently stimulated by elevated [CO2] (van Groenigen et al., 2006
These apparent nutrient limitations of N2 fixation at elevated [CO2] may not be specific to legumes or physiologically distinct from nutrient limitation in nonleguminous species. Mo limitation, which is largely confined to acidic soils, may impact N2 fixation directly (Hungate et al., 2004 Therefore, the non-N nutrient limitation of the response of legumes to elevated [CO2] is likely a general nutrient limitation of plant growth that is exacerbated at elevated [CO2] where the availability of C, N, and potentially water is improved, rather than a specific nutrient requirement of legumes grown at elevated [CO2].
Reductions in leaf N content and or increases in C to N ratio are commonly observed in plants grown at elevated [CO2] (Ainsworth and Long, 2005
Evidence from mixed semigrassland communities managed as a forage crop showed that leaf N content and C to N ratio were unaffected by growth at elevated [CO2] in legumes, but decreased in nonlegumes (Winkler and Herbst, 2004
Elevated [CO2] will have direct effects on human health and well being through changes in grain quality. Protein content of nonleguminous C3 grains including barley (Hordeum vulgare), wheat (Triticum aestivum), and rice (Oryza sativa) declined by 14% at elevated [CO2] (Taub et al., 2008
The sustained stimulation of C3 photosynthesis by elevated [CO2] increases the availability of carbohydrate and in doing so alters the balance of C and N resources. As a result the plant acclimates, adjusting its photosynthetic, respiratory, and N metabolism to improve performance under elevated [CO2] (Leakey et al., 2009
The capacity for legumes to coordinate enhanced assimilation of C and N at elevated [CO2] to avoid down-regulation of photosynthetic capacity and ultimately maximize gains in productivity has been demonstrated across a range of species, environmental conditions, and ecological settings (Ainsworth and Rogers, 2007
Drought is a major limitation to crop production and causes a marked inhibition of N2 fixation in legumes. This is particularly important in arid regions where legumes are also major food crops (Fig. 1). In some species, N2 fixation is especially sensitive to even modest soil drying and reductions in N2 fixation are observed before effects on transpiration or photosynthesis are apparent (Serraj et al., 1999
The supply of C to the bacteroid can limit N2 fixation. Plants growing at elevated [CO2] should be able to enhance C supply to the nodule through increased photosynthesis. However, the drought-induced C shortage in the bacteriod occurs downstream of Suc supply. It is correlated with a crash in host cell Suc synthase activity (Fig. 2), an accumulation of Suc, and a decline in malate content (Galvez et al., 2005
Drought-associated decreases in N2 fixation have been linked to increases in ureides, amides, and other amino acids in the leaf and nodule, and there is evidence for both a systemic and local feedback on N2 fixation that is associated with N metabolites (Serraj et al., 1999
Elevated [CO2] perhaps has the most potential to help protect N2 fixation from moderate drought by maintaining higher soil moisture content. There is overwhelming evidence that growth at elevated [CO2] reduces stomatal conductance (gs; Fig. 3), and that this instantaneous response of stomates to CO2 is maintained with time (Leakey et al., 2009
Current evidence suggests there are three key features of the response of legumes to elevated [CO2]: (1) unlike other nonleguminous C3 plants, only legumes have the potential to maximize the benefit of elevated [CO2] by matching stimulated photosynthesis with increased N2 fixation; (2) this potential can only be realized in the absence of limitations on productivity such as nutrient deficiency, low temperature, or drought; (3) rising [CO2] may offer some protection from drought-induced decreases in N2 fixation, which will be become more prevalent with projected changes in precipitation intensity and frequency that are projected to accompany the rise in [CO2]. However, despite the considerable importance of legumes to both agriculture and the function of natural ecosystems, there are still key knowledge gaps. There have been very few long-term studies of the response of field-grown legumes to elevated [CO2]. This greatly limits characterization of the environmental conditions under which N2 fixation can or cannot be stimulated at elevated [CO2]. The feedback effects of nutrient limitation on N2 fixation and photosynthesis have not been quantified. Only a single leguminous food crop (soybean) has been the subject of a fully open-air CO2 enrichment experiment, and this study has not yet reported the effects of elevated [CO2] on N2 fixation. No study we are aware of has quantitatively assessed the flow of C to nodules at current and elevated [CO2]. These and other challenges create the prospect of many new and exciting findings in this subject area.
We thank Joe Nivens for the soybean illustration and Craig Yendrek for comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. Received July 2, 2009; accepted September 2, 2009; published September 15, 2009.
1 This work was supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (grant no. DE–AC02–98CH10886 to A.R. and Brookhaven National Laboratory).
2 These authors contributed equally to the article. The author responsible for distribution of materials integral to the findings presented in this article in accordance with the policy described in the Instructions for Authors (www.plantphysiol.org) is: Alistair Rogers (arogers{at}bnl.gov). www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/doi/10.1104/pp.109.144113 * Corresponding author; e-mail arogers{at}bnl.gov.
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