Corrigendum: Waterlogging of Winter Crops at Early and Late Stages: Impacts on Leaf Physiology, Growth and Yield.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2018.01863.].

Waterlogging of Winter Crops at Early and Late Stages: Impacts on Leaf Physiology, Growth and Yield.

Waterlogging is expected to increase as a consequence of global climate change, constraining crop production in various parts of the world. This study assessed tolerance to 14-days of early- or late-stage waterlogging of the major winter crops wheat, barley, rapeseed and field pea. Aerenchyma formation in adventitious roots, leaf physiological parameters (net photosynthesis, stomatal and mesophyll conductances, chlorophyll fluorescence), shoot and root growth during and after waterlogging, and seed production were evaluated. Wheat produced adventitious roots with 20-22% of aerenchyma, photosynthesis was maintained during waterlogging, and seed production was 86 and 71% of controls for early- and late-waterlogging events. In barley and rapeseed, plants were less affected by early- than by late-waterlogging. Barley adventitious roots contained 19% aerenchyma, whereas rapeseed did not form aerenchyma. In barley, photosynthesis was reduced during early-waterlogging mainly by stomatal limitations, and by non-stomatal constraints (lower mesophyll conductance and damage to photosynthetic apparatus as revealed by chlorophyll fluorescence) during late-waterlogging. In rapeseed, photosynthesis was mostly reduced by non-stomatal limitations during early- and late-waterlogging, which also impacted shoot and root growth. Early-waterlogged plants of both barley and rapeseed were able to recover in growth upon drainage, and seed production reached ca. 79-85% of the controls, while late-waterlogged plants only attained 26-32% in seed production. Field pea showed no ability to develop root aerenchyma when waterlogged, and its photosynthesis (and stomatal and mesophyll conductances) was rapidly decreased by the stress. Consequently, waterlogging drastically reduced field pea seed production to 6% of controls both at early- and late-stages with plants being unable to resume growth upon drainage. In conclusion, wheat generates a set of adaptive responses to withstand 14 days of waterlogging, barley and rapeseed can still produce significant yield if transiently waterlogged during early plant stages but are more adversely impacted at the late stage, and field pea is not suitable for areas prone to waterlogging events of 14 days at either growth stage.

A proteome map of a quadruple photoreceptor mutant sustains its severe photosynthetic deficient phenotype.

Light is the environmental factor that most affects plant growth and development through its impact on photomorphogenesis and photosynthesis. A quadruple photoreceptor mutant lacking four of the most important photoreceptors in plants, phytochromes A and B (phyA, phyB) and cryptochromes 1 and 2 (cry1, cry2), is severely affected in terms of growth and development. Previous studies have suggested that in addition to a photomorphogenic disorder, the phyA phyB cry1 cry2 quadruple mutant might have severe alterations in photosynthetic ability. Here, we investigated the photosynthetic processes altered in the quadruple mutant and performed a proteomic profiling approach to identify some of the proteins involved. The phyA phyB cry1 cry2 quadruple mutant showed reduced leaf area and total chlorophyll content. Photosynthetic rates at high irradiances were reduced approximately 65% compared to the wild type (WT). Light-saturated photosynthesis and the response of net CO2 exchange to low and high internal CO2 concentrations suggest that the levels or activity of the components of the Calvin cycle and electron transport might be reduced in the quadruple mutant. Most of the under-expressed proteins in the phyA phyB cry1 cry2 quadruple mutant consistently showed a chloroplastic localization, whereas components of the Calvin cycle and light reaction centers were overrepresented. Additionally, Rubisco expression was reduced threefold in the phyA phyB cry1 cry2 quadruple mutant. Together, these results highlight the importance of the phytochrome and cryptochrome families in proper autotrophy establishment in plants. They also suggest that an overall limitation in the chlorophyll levels, expression of Rubisco, and enzymes of the Calvin Cycle and electron transport that affect ribulose-1,5-biphosphate (RuBP) regeneration reduced photosynthetic capacity in the phyA phyB cry1 cry2 quadruple mutant.