Natural variation of respiration-related traits in plants

While most respiration-related studies accessing natural variation focus on respiratory metabolites, novel high-throughput techniques to capture respiration rates will enable novel discoveries. Plant respiration is one of the greatest global metabolic fluxes, but rates of respiration vary massively both within different cell types as well as between different individuals and different species. Whilst this is well known, few studies have detailed population-level variation of respiration until recently. The last 20 years have seen a renaissance in studies of natural variance. In this review, we describe how experimental breeding populations and collections of large populations of accessions can be used to determine the genetic architecture of plant traits. We further detail how these approaches have been used to study the rate of respiration per se as well as traits that are intimately associated with respiration. The review highlights specific breakthroughs in these areas but also concludes that the approach should be more widely adopted in the study of respiration per se as opposed to the more frequently studied respiration-related traits.

Automated summary

While most respiration-related studies focus on respiratory metabolites, new high-throughput techniques are enabling the discovery of respiration rates. Plant respiration is a major global metabolic flux, but rates vary greatly between cell types, individuals, and species. However, few studies have investigated population-level variation in respiration until recently. This review highlights the use of experimental populations and large collections to study the genetic architecture of plant traits, including respiration rates and associated traits.