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Production of heat-shock proteins (Hsps) is a key adaptation to acute heat stress and will be important in determining plant responses to climate change. Further, intraspecifc variation in Hsps, which will influence species-level response to global warming, has rarely been examined in naturally occurring plants. To understand intraspecific variation in plant Hsps and its relevance to global warming, we examined Hsp content and thermotolerance in five naturally occurring populations of Chenopodium album L. from contrasting thermal environments grown at low and high temperatures. As expected, Hsp accumulation varied between populations, but this was related more to habitat variability than to mean temperature. Unexpectedly, Hsp accumulation decreased with increasing variability of habitat temperatures. Hsp accumulation also decreased with increased experimental growth temperatures. Physiological thermotolerance was partitioned into basal and induced components. As with Hsps, induced thermotolerance decreased with increasing temperature variability. Thus, populations native to the more stressful habitats, or grown at higher temperatures, had lower Hsp levels and induced thermotolerance, suggesting a greater reliance on basal mechanisms for thermotolerance. These results suggest that future global climate change will differentially impact ecotypes within species, possibly by selecting for increased basal versus inducible thermotolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, several studies reported that the optimum temperature for the initial slope [ IS( C i)] of the light-saturated photosynthetic rate ( A) versus intercellular CO2 concentration ( Ci) curve changed, depending on the growth temperature. However, few studies compare IS( Ci) with ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) properties. Here, we assessed Rubisco activation state and in vitro Rubisco kinetics, the main determinants of IS( Ci), in spinach leaves grown at 30/25 [high temperature (HT)] and 15/10 °C [low temperature (LT)]. We measured Rubisco activation state and A at a CO2 concentration of 360 µL L−1 ( A360) at various temperatures. In both HT and LT leaves, the Rubisco activation state decreased with increasing temperatures above the optimum temperatures for A360, while the activation state remained high at lower temperatures. To compare Rubisco characteristics, temperature dependences of the maximum rate of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP) carboxylation ( Vcmax), specificity factor ( Sc/o) and thermal stability were examined. We also examined Vcmax and thermal stability in the leaves that were transferred from HT to LT conditions and were subsequently kept under LT conditions for 2 weeks (HL). Rubisco purified from HT, LT and HL leaves are called HT, LT and HL Rubisco, respectively. Thermal stabilities of LT and HL Rubisco were similar and lower than that of HT Rubisco. Both Vcmax and Sc/o in LT Rubisco were higher than those of HT Rubisco at low temperatures, while these were lower at high temperatures. Vcmax in HL Rubisco were similar to those of LT Rubisco at low temperatures, and to those of HT Rubisco at high temperatures. The predicted photosynthetic rates, taking account of the Rubisco kinetics and the Rubisco activation state, agreed well with A360 in both HT and LT leaves. This study suggests that photosynthetic performance is largely determined by the Rubisco kinetics at low temperature and by Rubisco Kinetics and the Rubisco activation state at high temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The response of net photosynthesis and respiration in five species of Umbilicaria to thallus moisture content at three temperatures (0, 14, 28 °C) and four light intensities (0, 100, 330, 700 μmol m-2 s-1) was studied in collections made in summer and winter. The pattern of response to these variables suggests that each species is uniquely adapted to the cliff environments in which they grow. A simple model suggests further that each species can maintain a positive energy balance provided that its distribution does not extend to sites with temperatures in excess of certain values. None of the species show photosynthetic acclimation to temperature, yet they all exhibit large seasonal changes in their response structures. The significance of such patterns is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]