Climate change poses an ongoing and increasing threat to the flora of our planet. The alterations in the environment that plants are not used to influence their growth and can jeopardize their survival. As a result, plant scientists are working diligently to understand how these environmental changes affect plant life and if plants can adapt to these new conditions.
Climate change poses an ongoing and increasing threat to the flora of our planet. The alterations in the environment that plants are not used to influence their growth and can jeopardize their survival. As a result, plant scientists are working diligently to understand how these environmental changes affect plant life and if plants can adapt to these new conditions.
Researchers from the Walker laboratory at Michigan State University and the U.S. Department of Energy Plant Research Laboratory (PRL) are studying how paper birch trees adjust to changing environments through a crucial plant function known as photorespiration.
“If we think of plant metabolism as a highway system, photorespiration would be like the second-busiest road,” explained Berkley Walker, an associate professor in the Department of Plant Biology at the PRL. “We want to find out if this essential pathway has enough capacity to handle the traffic under existing and anticipated climate conditions.”
Acclimation in humans occurs when we get used to new environments, like adjusting to cold winter temperatures or learning at a new job.
Plants also need to acclimate to new situations. This process is made more complex by the dual effects of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and global warming on photosynthesis and photorespiration. As temperatures rise, so does photorespiration; conversely, increased CO2 levels can reduce photorespiration. This balancing act could impact the efficiency of photorespiration.
In a study featured in Scientific Reports, researchers investigated whether paper birch trees modulate the activity of photorespiratory enzymes in response to different environmental circumstances. Paper birch was chosen due to its presence in boreal forest biomes, which are found in some of the planet’s coldest areas and are likely to be severely affected by climate change.
Specific growth conditions were engineered to reflect current, moderate, and extreme climate change predictions for boreal forests, as outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Researchers adjusted the CO2 levels and air temperatures in various combinations to explore these scenarios.
“This study looked into whether plants adjust their enzyme capabilities according to their needs or keep a buffer to ensure they have extra capacity available for unexpected changes,” stated Luke Gregory, a former graduate student in the Walker lab and the study’s lead author.
Into the Biotron
Trees were cultivated from seeds by researchers in Professor Danielle Way’s lab at the University of Western Ontario. They grew paper birch trees under six different environmental conditions using the university’s Biotron, a facility that can replicate nearly any climate on Earth.
After four months of growth, Way’s lab measured the trees and sent leaf samples to Michigan State. Gregory and his colleagues examined nine enzymes linked to the photorespiratory process in the leaves and analyzed their activity.
The findings revealed that the trees did not alter their enzyme capacities based on the climate conditions they were exposed to; instead, they maintained consistent enzyme levels across all six future climate scenarios. However, the study showed that the enzyme capacities were greater than what was needed for the photorespiratory process, meaning the trees were equipped to continue growing even amid changing environmental factors.
“Discovering that these plants possess a safety margin across all different environments is intriguing,” Gregory remarked. “Initially, we expected their enzyme levels to change specifically in response to demand, but we found that they consistently maintain this buffer. This allows them to adapt to changes, whether under current, moderate, or extreme conditions.”
This positive development indicates that these trees have a built-in ability to withstand climate changes, at least regarding photorespiration.
Nevertheless, this represents only one aspect of the broader understanding of how photorespiration is and will be influenced by climate change driven by human activity.
“It’s crucial to grasp how plants react to present and future conditions, as they are essential to our lives,” Gregory pointed out. “Understanding if plants can adapt or acclimate over generations to specific environmental conditions is vital since they provide significant resources like fuel, food, and fiber.”
