Photosynthetica 2024, 62(1):6-15 | DOI: 10.32615/ps.2023.036

Regulation of photosynthesis and water-use efficiency in pima and upland cotton species subjected to drought and recovery

J.M. HAN1, J. FLEXAS2, D.L. XIONG3, J. GALMÉS2, Y.L. ZHANG1
1 Key Laboratory of Oasis Eco-agriculture, Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Shihezi University, 832003 Shihezi, China
2 Research Group on Plant Biology under Mediterranean Conditions, Universitat de les Illes Balears/Instituto de Investigaciones Agroambientales y de Economía del Agua (INAGEA), Carretera de Valldemossa Km 7.5, 07121 Palma de Mallorca, Illes Balears, Spain
3 National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, MOA Key Laboratory of Crop Ecophysiology and Farming System in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, 430070 Wuhan, Hubei, China

Photosynthesis is extremely sensitive to drought and decreases due to co-occurring stomatal, mesophyll, and biochemical limitations. Few studies have shown the effects of a drought cycle (drought-rewatering) on photosynthesis and water-use efficiency (WUE) in cotton. Here, the dynamics of photosynthesis in upland (Gossypium hirsutum) and pima (G. barbadense) cotton were analyzed during a drought cycle. While both species decreased net CO2 assimilation rate (PN) to a similar extent under drought, in pima cotton rewatering rapidly restored PN, the stomatal conductance (gs), the maximum carboxylation rate (Vcmax), and the maximum electron transport rate above the control level. Meanwhile, the response of leaf intrinsic WUE (WUEi) to drought and recovery was different between the two cotton species, which was mainly co-regulated by Vcmax and gs. In conclusion, pima and upland cotton exhibit different response patterns of PN and WUEi during the whole process of drought and recovery.

Additional key words: drought; mesophyll conductance; photosynthesis; recovery; stomatal conductance; water-use efficiency.

Received: July 4, 2023; Revised: August 22, 2023; Accepted: September 26, 2023; Prepublished online: October 19, 2023; Published: February 22, 2024  Show citation

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HAN, J.M., FLEXAS, J., XIONG, D.L., GALMÉS, J., & ZHANG, Y.L. (2024). Regulation of photosynthesis and water-use efficiency in pima and upland cotton species subjected to drought and recovery. Photosynthetica, 62(1), 6-15. doi: 10.32615/ps.2023.036
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