Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Adaptive Cropping Systems Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #324234
Title: Cultivar specific changes in peanut (Arachis hypogae L.) yield, biomass, and allergenicity in response to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration

Author
item Ziska, Lewis
item BARNABY, JINYOUNG - Orise Fellow
item Tomecek, Martha
item BEGGS, PAUL - Macquarie University

Submitted to: Crop Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/17/2016
Publication Date: 9/1/2016
Citation: Ziska, L.H., Barnaby, J., Tomecek, M.B., Beggs, P.J. 2016. Cultivar specific changes in peanut (Arachis hypogae L.) yield, biomass, and allergenicity in response to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration. Crop Science. 56:2766-2774.

Interpretive Summary: Rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, [CO2], are recognized as being an essential resource necessary for plant photosynthesis, growth and seed yield. Variation in the relative response to CO2 among crop lines has been suggested as a means to select for those cultivars that convert more CO2 directly into seed yield. Although studies have been conducted in this regard for a number of crops, data comparing peanut lines under field conditions are not available. In this study, we showed that significant differences in cultivar, [CO2], and cultivar by [CO2] were observed for above-ground biomass and seed (peanut) yield with "Virginia Jumbo" showing a consistently greater increase relative to "Georgia Green" in response to elevated [CO2]. However, the greater quantitative response of "Virginia Jumbo" to [CO2] was also concurrent with a significant increase in the concentration of Ara h 1 a known peanut allergen. While preliminary, these results indicate that selection opportunities exist to match yield increases to rising [CO2] for peanut through genetic or phenotypic selection; however, [CO2]-induced qualitative changes, particularly in regard to increased allergen concentration, should also be considered in order to address food safety concerns.

Technical Abstract: Intraspecific variation in response to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, [CO2], could, potentially, be used as a means to begin selection for improved quantitative or qualitative characteristics for a given crop. Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is a leguminous crop of global importance; however field assessments of intraspecific variation in regard to rising atmospheric [CO2] are not available. In the current study, we examined the seed yield, above-ground biomass and concentration of a seed storage protein and primary allergen (Ara h 1) for two peanut cultivars with distinct morphologies, "Virginia Jumbo" and "Georgia Green," grown in open-top field chambers at ambient or ambient + 250 µmol mol-1 [CO2] for a two-year period. Significant differences in cultivar, [CO2], and cultivar by [CO2] were observed for above-ground biomass and seed (peanut) yield with "Virginia Jumbo" showing a consistently greater increase relative to "Georgia Green" in response to elevated [CO2]. The greater quantitative response of "Virginia Jumbo" to [CO2] was also concurrent with a significant increase in the concentration of Ara h 1 for this cultivar; which, in turn, was negatively correlated with overall protein concentration. While preliminary, these results indicate that selection opportunities exist to match yield increases to rising [CO2] for peanut through genetic or phenotypic selection; however, these are also the first data to show that [CO2]-induced qualitative changes, particularly in regard to increased allergen concentration, should also be considered in order to address food safety concerns.