Interactions between atmospheric CO2 concentration and phosphorus nutrition on the formation of proteoid roots in white lupin (Lupinus albus L.)

Atmospheric [CO2] affects photosynthesis and therefore should affect the supply of carbon to roots. To evaluate interactions between carbon supply and nutrient acquisition, the [CO2] effects on root growth, proteoid root formation and phosphorus (P) uptake capacity were studied in white lupin (Lupinus albus L.) grown hydroponically at 200, 410 and 750 µmol mol−1 CO2, under sufficient (0·25 mm P) and deficient (0·69 µm P) phosphorus. Plant size increased with increasing [CO2] only at high P. Both P deficiency and increasing [CO2] increased the production of proteoid clusters; the increase in response to increased [CO2] was proportionally greater from low to ambient [CO2] than from ambient to high. The activity of phosphoenol pyruvate carboxylase in the proteoid root, the exudation of organic acids from the roots, and the specific uptake of P increased with P deficiency, but were unaffected by [CO2]. Increasing [CO2] from Pleistocene levels to those predicted for the next century increased plant size and allocation to proteoid roots, but did not change the specific P uptake capacity per unit root mass. Hence, rising [CO2] should promote nutrient uptake by allowing lupins to mine greater volumes of soil.