Combined effects of CO2 enrichment and elevated growth temperatures on metabolites in soybean leaflets: evidence for dynamic changes of TCA cycle intermediates.

Soybean (Glycine max [Merr.] L.) was grown in indoor chambers with ambient (38 Pa) and elevated (70 Pa) CO2 and day/night temperature treatments of 28/20, 32/24 and 36/28 °C. We hypothesized that CO2 enrichment would mitigate the deleterious effects of elevated growth temperatures on metabolites in soybean leaflets. Net CO2 assimilation rates increased incrementally with growth temperature and were enhanced up to 24 % on average by CO2 enrichment. Stomatal conductance about doubled from the lowest to highest temperature but this was partially reversed by CO2 enrichment. Metabolites were measured thrice daily and 19 and 28 of 43 total leaf metabolites were altered by the 32/24 and 36/28 °C temperature treatments, respectively, in both CO2 treatments. Polyols, raffinose and GABA increased and 23 nonstructural carbohydrates, organic acids and amino acids decreased when the temperature was increased from 28 to 36 °C under ambient CO2. Citrate, aconitate and 2-oxoglutarate decreased over 90 % in the 36/28 °C compared to the 28/20 °C temperature treatment. Temperature-dependent changes of sugars, organic acids and all but three amino acids were almost completely eliminated by CO2 enrichment. The above findings suggested that specific TCA cycle intermediates were highly depleted by heat stress under ambient CO2. Mitigating effects of CO2 enrichment on soybean leaflet metabolites were attributed to altered rates of photosynthesis, photorespiration, dark respiration, the anaplerotic pathway and to possible changes of gene expression.