C monocots and C dicots exhibit rapid photosynthetic induction response in contrast to C plants.

Considering the prevalence of ever-changing conditions in the natural world, investigation of photosynthetic responses in C plants under fluctuating light is needed. Here, we studied the effect of dynamic illumination on photosynthesis in totally 10 C, C-C intermediate, C-like and C dicots and monocots at CO concentrations of 400 and 800 μmol mol. C and C-like plants had faster photosynthetic induction and light-induced stomatal dynamics than C plants at 400 μmol mol, but not at 800 μmol mol CO, at which the CO supply rarely limits photosynthesis. C and C-like plants had a higher water use efficiency than C plants at both CO concentrations. There were positive correlations between photosynthetic induction and light-induced stomatal response, together with CO compensation point, which was a parameter of the CO-concentrating mechanism of C photosynthesis. These results clearly show that C photosynthesis in both monocots and dicots adapts to fluctuating light conditions more efficiently than C photosynthesis. The rapid photosynthetic induction response in C plants can be attributed to the rapid stomatal dynamics, the CO-concentrating mechanism or both.