C photosynthesis, trait spectra, and the fast-efficient phenotype.

Russell K Monson, Christopher J Still, Sasha C Reed, Elizabeth A Ainsworth, Danielle A Way, Alan K Knapp, Melinda D Smith, Yuzhen Fan, Rowan F Sage, Andrew D B Leakey, Shuai Li, Nicholas G Smith, John G Hodge, Danica Lombardozzi

Journal: The New phytologist 2025;246(3):879-893

PMID: 40143607

Full Text on Wiley View on PubMed

Abstract

It has been 60 years since the discovery of C photosynthesis, an event that rewrote our understanding of plant adaptation, ecosystem responses to global change, and global food security. Despite six decades of research, one aspect of C photosynthesis that remains poorly understood is how the pathway fits into the broader context of adaptive trait spectra, which form our modern view of functional trait ecology. The C CO-concentrating mechanism supports a general C plant phenotype capable of fast growth and high resource-use efficiencies. The fast-efficient C phenotype has the potential to operate at high productivity rates, while allowing for less biomass allocation to root production and nutrient acquisition, thereby providing opportunities for the evolution of novel trait covariances and the exploitation of new ecological niches. We propose the placement of the C fast-efficient phenotype near the acquisitive pole of the world-wide leaf economic spectrum, but with a pathway-specific span of trait space, wherein selection shapes both acquisitive and conservative adaptive strategies. A trait-based perspective of C photosynthesis will open new paths to crop improvement, global biogeochemical modeling, the management of invasive species, and the restoration of disturbed ecosystems, particularly in grasslands.

Address: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, 80309, CO, USA.; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, Guangdong, China.; Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA.; Global Change and Photosynthesis Research Unit, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA.; Division of Plant Sciences, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, 2601, ACT, Australia.; Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA.; Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, 80523, CO, USA.; Department of Plant Biology, Department of Crop Sciences, Institute for Genomic Biology, Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA.; Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, 80521, CO, USA.; U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, 84532, UT, USA.; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks St., Toronto, M5R 3C6, ON, Canada.; Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, 79409, TX, USA.; Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, 97331, OR, USA.; Division of Plant Sciences, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, 2601, ACT, Australia.; Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, N6A 3K7, ON, Canada.; Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, 27708, NC, USA.

DOI: 10.1111/nph.70057

Link outs

Free resources

Miscellaneous:

https://assays.cancer.gov/non-CPTAC-3339

Subscription / membership required

Full Text Sources:

https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.70057

MeSH Terms: Photosynthesis, Phenotype, Quantitative Trait, Heritable, Plant Leaves, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon