Wheat leaf dark respiration acclimates more strongly at night than in the day when responding to nocturnal warming

Rising night temperatures pose a significant threat to wheat productivity,
yet the physiological basis of wheat adaptation to nocturnal warming
remains poorly understood. We evaluated leaf photosynthetic and
respiratory traits in ten Australian wheat cultivars released between 1901
and 2012 to warm nights under temperature-controlled environments. When
exposed to warmer nights, rates of leaf net CO2 assimilation measured at
25 °C (Anet25) remained stable across cultivar release date despite
declines in photosynthetic capacity (Vcmax and J1500) in newer cultivars.
In most cultivars leaf respiratory CO2 release in the dark (Rdark)
exhibited divergent thermal responses: warm nights suppressed
temperature-normalised night Rdark (Rdark_night) but stimulated or
maintained Rdark in the daytime (Rdark_day). The results suggest that a
century of yield-focused breeding may have inadvertently maintained Anet25
under warmer nights in modern cultivars. This likely reflects the
selection of genotypes with more efficient photosynthetic capacity (i.e.
greater return per protein investment) under warm nights. It is also
likely that modern cultivars exhibit reduced respiratory demand for
maintenance of processes such as Rubisco protein turnover and synthesis.
Our findings highlight trait-based targets for enhancing energy efficiency
and climate resilience in wheat and opportunities to improve the
parameterization of Rdark in Earth system models.