Effects of fully open-air [CO2] elevation on leaf ultrastructure, photosynthesis, and yield of two soybean cultivars

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of elevated (550 ± 17 ??mol mol^?1) CO₂ concentration (CO₂]) on leaf ultrastructure, leaf photosynthesis and seed yield of two soybean cultivars Glycine max (L.) Merr. cv. Zhonghuang 13 and cv. Zhonghuang 35] at the Free-Air Carbon dioxide Enrichment (FACE) experimental facility in North China. Photosynthetic acclimation occurred in soybean plants exposed to long-term elevated CO₂] and varied with cultivars and developmental stages. Photosynthetic acclimation occurred at the beginning bloom (R1) stage for both cultivars, but at the beginning seed (R5) stage only for Zhonghuang 13. No photosynthetic acclimation occurred at the beginning pod (R3) stage for either cultivar. Elevated CO₂] increased the number and size of starch grains in chloroplasts of the two cultivars. Soybean leaf senescence was accelerated under elevated CO₂], determined by unclear chloroplast membrane and blurred grana layer at the beginning bloom (R1) stage. The different photosynthesis response to elevated CO₂] between cultivars at the beginning seed (R5) contributed to the yield difference under elevated CO₂]. Elevated CO₂] significantly increased the yield of Zhonghuang 35 by 26% with the increased pod number of 31%, but not for Zhonghuang 13 without changes of pod number. We conclude that the occurrence of photosynthetic acclimation at the beginning seed (R5) stage for Zhonghuang 13 restricted the development of extra C sink under elevated CO₂], thereby limiting the response to elevated CO₂] for the seed yield of this cultivar.