Mesophyll diffusion conductance to CO 2: An unappreciated central player in photosynthesis

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2012-11Author
Flexas, Jaume
Barbour, Margaret M.
Brendel, Oliver
Cabrera, H.M.
Carriquí, Marc
Díaz-Espejo, Antonio
Douthe, Cyril
Dreyer, Erwin
Galle, Alexander
Galmés, Jeroni
Kodama, Naomi
Medrano, Hipolito
Niinemets, Ülo
Peguero Pina, José Javier
Pou, Alicia
Ribas-Carbó, Miquel
Tomas, Magdalena
Tosens, Tiina
Warren, Charles R.
Suggested citation
Flexas, Jaume;
Barbour, Margaret M.;
Brendel, Oliver;
Cabrera, H.M.;
Carriquí, Marc;
Díaz-Espejo, Antonio;
...
Warren, Charles R..
(2012)
.
Mesophyll diffusion conductance to CO 2: An unappreciated central player in photosynthesis.
Plant Science, 2012, vol. 193-194 p. 70-84.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2012.05.009.
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Mesophyll diffusion conductance to CO 2 is a key photosynthetic trait that has been studied intensively in the past years. The intention of the present review is to update knowledge of g m, and highlight the important unknown and controversial aspects that require future work. The photosynthetic limitation imposed by mesophyll conductance is large, and under certain conditions can be the most significant photosynthetic limitation. New evidence shows that anatomical traits, such as cell wall thickness and chloroplast distribution are amongst the stronger determinants of mesophyll conductance, although rapid variations in response to environmental changes might be regulated by other factors such as aquaporin conductance.Gaps in knowledge that should be research priorities for the near future include: how different is mesophyll conductance among phylogenetically distant groups and how has it evolved? Can mesophyll conductance be uncoupled from regulation of the water path? What are the main drivers of mesophyll conductance? The need for mechanistic and phenomenological models of mesophyll conductance and its incorporation in process-based photosynthesis models is also highlighted.