A Transcriptomic Approach to Understanding the Combined Impacts of Supra-Optimal Temperatures and CO<sub>2</sub> Revealed Different Responses in the Polyploid <i>Coffea arabica</i> and Its Diploid Progenitor <i>C. canephora</i>

oleh: Isabel Marques, Isabel Fernandes, Octávio S. Paulo, Fernando C. Lidon, Fábio M. DaMatta, José C. Ramalho, Ana I. Ribeiro-Barros

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2021-03-01

Deskripsi

Understanding the effect of extreme temperatures and elevated air (CO<sub>2</sub>) is crucial for mitigating the impacts of the coffee industry. In this work, leaf transcriptomic changes were evaluated in the diploid <i>C. canephora</i> and its polyploid <i>C. arabica</i>, grown at 25 °C and at two supra-optimal temperatures (37 °C, 42 °C), under ambient (aCO<sub>2</sub>) or elevated air CO<sub>2</sub> (eCO<sub>2</sub>). Both species expressed fewer genes as temperature rose, although a high number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were observed, especially at 42 °C. An enrichment analysis revealed that the two species reacted differently to the high temperatures but with an overall up-regulation of the photosynthetic machinery until 37 °C. Although eCO<sub>2</sub> helped to release stress, 42 °C had a severe impact on both species. A total of 667 photosynthetic and biochemical related-DEGs were altered with high temperatures and eCO<sub>2</sub>, which may be used as key probe genes in future studies. This was mostly felt in <i>C. arabica</i>, where genes related to ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBisCO) activity, chlorophyll a-b binding, and the reaction centres of photosystems I and II were down-regulated, especially under 42°C, regardless of CO<sub>2</sub>. Transcriptomic changes showed that both species were strongly affected by the highest temperature, although they can endure higher temperatures (37 °C) than previously assumed.