Acclimation to temperature of the response of photosynthesis to increased carbon dioxide concentration in Taraxacum officinale

The relative stimulation of photosynthesis by elevated carbon dioxide in C₃ species normally increases strongly with increasing temperature. This results from the kinetic characteristics of Rubisco, and has potentially important implications for responses of vegetation to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide. It is often assumed that because Rubisco characteristics are conservative, all C₃ species have the same temperature dependence of the response of photosynthesis to elevated carbon dioxide. However, in this field study of Taraxacum officinale, there were no significant differences in the relative stimulation of photosynthesis by elevated carbon dioxide among days with temperatures ranging from 15 to 34 °C. Nevertheless, short-term measurements indicated a strong temperature dependence of the stimulation. This suggested that acclimation to temperature caused the lack of variation in the seasonal data. Experiments in controlled environments indicated that complete acclimation of the relative stimulation of photosynthesis by elevated carbon dioxide occurred for growth temperatures of 10 – 25 °C. The apparent specificity of Rubisco for carbon dioxide relative to oxygen at 15 °C, as assayed in vivo by measurements of the carbon dioxide concentration at which carboxylation equalled oxygenation, also varied with growth temperature. Changes in the apparent specificity of Rubisco accounted for the acclimation of the temperature dependence of the relative stimulation of photosynthesis by elevated carbon dioxide. It is premature to conclude that low temperatures will necessarily reduce the relative stimulation of photosynthesis caused by rising atmospheric carbon dioxide. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.