The effects of photosynthetic rate on respiration in light, starch/sucrose partitioning, and other metabolic fluxes within photosynthesis.

In the future, plants may encounter increased light and elevated CO levels. How consequent alterations in photosynthetic rates will impact fluxes in photosynthetic carbon metabolism remains uncertain. Respiration in light (R) is pivotal in plant carbon balance and a key parameter in photosynthesis models. Understanding the dynamics of photosynthetic metabolism and R under varying environmental conditions is essential for optimizing plant growth and agricultural productivity. However, measuring R under high light and high CO (HLHC) conditions poses challenges using traditional gas exchange methods. In this study, we employed isotopically nonstationary metabolic flux analysis (INST-MFA) to estimate R and investigate photosynthetic carbon flux, unveiling nuanced adjustments in Camelina sativa under HLHC. Despite numerous flux alterations in HLHC, R remained stable. HLHC affects several factors influencing R, such as starch and sucrose partitioning, v/v ratio, triose phosphate partitioning, and hexose kinase activity. Analysis of A/C curve operational points reveals that HLHC's major changes primarily stem from CO suppressing photorespiration. Integration of these fluxes into a simplified model predicts changes in CBC labeling under HLHC. This study extends our prior discovery that incomplete CBC labeling is due to unlabeled carbon reimported during R, offering insights into manipulating labeling through adjustments in photosynthetic rates.