摘要
Increasing leaf photosynthesis per area（A） is of great importance to achieve yield further improvement. The aim of this study was to exploit varietal difference in A and its correlation with specific leaf weight（SLW）. Twelve rice cultivars, including 6 indica and 6 japonica varieties, were pot-grown under two N treatments, low N（LN） and sufficient N（SN）. Leaf photosynthesis and related parameters were measured at tillering stage. Compared with LN treatment, A, stomatal conductance（g_s）, mesophyll conductance（g_m）, leaf N content（N_（area））, and chlorophyll content were significantly improved under SN treatment, while SLW and photosynthetic N use efficiency（PNUE） were generally decreased. Varietal difference in A was positively related to both g_s and g_m, but not related to N_（area）. This resulted in a low PNUE in high N_（area） leaves. Varietal difference in PNUE was generally negatively related to SLW. Response of PNUE to N supply varied among different rice cultivars, and interestingly, the decrease in PNUE under SN was negatively related to the decrease in SLW. With a higher N_（area）, japonica rice cultivars did not show a higher A than indica rice cultivars because of possession of high-SLW leaves. Therefore, varietal difference in A was not related to N_（area）, and SLW can substantially interfere with the correlation between A and N_（area）. These findings may provide useful information for rice breeders to maximize A and PNUE, rather than over reliance on N_（area） as an indicator of photosynthetic performance.
Increasing leaf photosynthesis per area（A） is of great importance to achieve yield further improvement. The aim of this study was to exploit varietal difference in A and its correlation with specific leaf weight（SLW）. Twelve rice cultivars, including 6 indica and 6 japonica varieties, were pot-grown under two N treatments, low N（LN） and sufficient N（SN）. Leaf photosynthesis and related parameters were measured at tillering stage. Compared with LN treatment, A, stomatal conductance（g_s）, mesophyll conductance（g_m）, leaf N content（N_（area））, and chlorophyll content were significantly improved under SN treatment, while SLW and photosynthetic N use efficiency（PNUE） were generally decreased. Varietal difference in A was positively related to both g_s and g_m, but not related to N_（area）. This resulted in a low PNUE in high N_（area） leaves. Varietal difference in PNUE was generally negatively related to SLW. Response of PNUE to N supply varied among different rice cultivars, and interestingly, the decrease in PNUE under SN was negatively related to the decrease in SLW. With a higher N_（area）, japonica rice cultivars did not show a higher A than indica rice cultivars because of possession of high-SLW leaves. Therefore, varietal difference in A was not related to N_（area）, and SLW can substantially interfere with the correlation between A and N_（area）. These findings may provide useful information for rice breeders to maximize A and PNUE, rather than over reliance on N_（area） as an indicator of photosynthetic performance.
基金
supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31301840)
the National Excellent Doctoral Dissertation of China(201465)
the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University of China(IRT1247)
the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province,China(2013CFB201)
the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities,China(2013PY107)
