Influence of elevated CO2 concentration on salt and drought resistance mechanisms of a C3 (Chenopodium quinoa) and a C4 (Atriplex nummularia) xero-halophyte

本研究以藜麦(C3植物)和滨藜(C4植物)为例，旨在回答大气CO2浓度升高对C3和C4旱生植物的抗盐性和抗旱性是否有不同影响的问题。由此推测，CO2浓度升高显著提高了藜麦(C3)的抗盐性和抗旱性，而对金线莲(C4)的抗旱性影响不大。这一假设将通过比较和关联上述物种在不同水平的盐分和干旱胁迫下的转录组和相应的生态生理参数在环境和高浓度的二氧化碳浓度下得到验证。这一主题在全球气候变化过程中具有重要意义，全球气候变化是由大气中二氧化碳等微量气体浓度上升引起的，对农业具有破坏性影响，因为它加剧了土壤盐碱化和干旱。该项目的成果将为今后在干旱和/或盐碱地上可持续利用C3和C4旱生盐生植物提供基础，从而减轻气候变化的原因和后果。此外，转录组图谱被认为为藜麦和北美藜麦作为第一个干旱/干旱和二氧化碳升高相互作用的干旱盐生C3模式植物的发展奠定了基础，这对于评估C3和C4作物在气候变化中的表现以及提高它们的抗盐性和/或抗旱性具有重要意义。

Taking Chenopodium quinoa (C3 plant) and Atriplex nummularia (C4 plant) as an example, the planned study intends to answer the question if elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration has a different effect on the salt and drought resistance of C3 and C4 xero-halophytes. It is hypothesized that elevated CO2 concentration significantly enhances the salt and drought resistance of C. quinoa (C3), while it has only a slightly positive effect on the resistance of A. nummularia (C4). This hypothesis will be tested by comparing and interrelating the transcriptome and corresponding eco-physiological parameters of the mentioned species at different levels of NaCl salinity and drought stress under ambient and elevated CO2 concentration. The addressed topic is of major importance in the course of global climate change which is caused by rising atmospheric concentration of trace gases such as CO2 and has devastating effects on agriculture because it exacerbates soil salinisation and drought. The results of the project will provide a basis for the future sustainable use of C3 and C4 xero-halophytes on dry and/or saline soils, which can mitigate the cause and the consequences of climate change. Furthermore, transcriptome profiling is thought to lay a foundation stone for the development of C. quinoa and A. nummularia as the first xero-halophytic C3 model plants regarding the interaction of salinity/drought and elevated CO2, which can be of major importance for assessing the performance of C3 and C4 crop plants in a world of climate change and for increasing their salt and/or drought resistance.