Enhanced photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency and increased nitrogen allocation to photosynthetic machinery under cotton domestication

Domestication involves dramatic phenotypic and physiological diversifications due to successive selection by breeders toward high yield and quality. Although photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency (PNUE) is a major trait for understanding leaf nitrogen economy, it is unclear whether PNUE of cotton has been improved under domestication. Here, we investigated the effect of domestication on nitrogen allocation to photosynthetic machinery and PNUE in 25 wild and 37 domesticated cotton genotypes. The results showed that domesticated genotypes had higher nitrogen content per mass (N-m), net photosynthesis under saturated light (A(sat)), and PNUE but similar nitrogen content per area (N-a) compared with wild genotypes. As expected, in both genotypes, PNUE was positively related to A(sat) but negatively correlated with N-a. However, the relative contribution of A(sat) to PNUE was greater than the contribution from N-a. Domesticated genotypes had higher nitrogen allocation to light-harvesting (N-L, nitrogen in light-harvesting chlorophyll-protein complex), to bioenergetics (N-b, total nitrogen of cytochrome f, ferredoxin NADP reductase, and the coupling factor), and to Rubisco (N-r) than wild genotypes; however, the two genotype groups did not differ in PNUEp, the ratio of A(sat) to N-p (itself the sum of N-L, N-b, and N-r). Our results suggest that more nitrogen allocation to photosynthetic machinery has boosted A(sat) under cotton domestication. Improving the efficiency of nitrogen use in photosynthetic machinery might be future aim to enhance A(sat) of cotton.

Automated summary

The study found that domesticated cotton genotypes showed higher nitrogen content per mass, net photosynthesis under saturated light, and photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency compared with wild genotypes. This suggests that more nitrogen allocation to photosynthetic machinery has increased the net photosynthesis under cotton domestication, highlighting the potential for future improvements in nitrogen use efficiency to enhance photosynthesis in cotton.