Peanut Photosynthesis Under Drought and Re-Watering

The photosynthetic response of three Arachis hypogaea L. cultivars (57-422, 73-30, and GC 8-35) grown for two months was measured under water available conditions, severe water stress, and 24, 72, and 93 h following re-watering. At the end of the drying cycle, all the cultivars reached dehydration, relative water content (RWC) ranging between 40 and 50 %. During dehydration, leaf stomatal conductance (gs), transpiration rate (E), and net photosynthetic rate (PN) decreased more in cvs. 57-422 and GC 8-35 than in 73-30. Instantaneous water use efficiency (WUEi) and photosynthetic capacity (Pmax) decreased mostly in cv. GC 8-35. Except in cv. GC 8-35, the activity of photosystem 1 (PS1) was only slightly affected. PS2 and ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBPCO) were the main targets of water stress. After re-watering, cvs. 73-30 and GC 8-35 rapidly regained gs, E, and PN activities. Twenty-four hours after re-watering, the electron transport rates and RuBPCO activity strongly increased. PN and Pmax fully recovered later. Considering the different photosynthetic responses of the studied genotype, a general characterisation of the interaction between water stress and this metabolism is presented.