Article Critique

Authors: Robert F. Collison1, Emma C. Raven1, Charles P. Pignon2,3,4 and Stephen

P. Long.

Title: Light, Not Age, Underlies the Maladaptation of Maize and Miscanthus
Photosynthesis to Self-Shading

Front. Plant Sci., 24 June 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.00783, 10 pgs.

The introduction of the study concisely and smoothly bring light to the readers the
issue that C4 plants which are mostly producing a considerable amount of our food and
fiber output as well as major bioenergy crops, have been experiencing maladaptation or
a failure to adjust adequately to the environment or situation. Unlike the C3 plants that
can adapt to low light environment, C4 crops that receives low light perform less
efficient. The research also presented related studies supporting the notion that
maladaptation was caused by a loss of photosynthetic efficiency in leaves at the bottom
of the canopy, which limits the plants' ability to photosynthesize and produce yields
(Pignon et al., 2017).

In order to address this problem, this study aims to know whether this is caused
by leaves being older or exposed to a different light environment at the bottom of the
canopy. Researchers from the University of Illinois and the University of Oxford worked
with maize and the bioenergy crop Miscanthus × giganteus they  tested the following
hypothesis: chronological age is responsible for the loss of maximum quantum yields of
photosynthesis in field plots of the C4 NADP-ME grasses maize and M. x giganteus.
Leaves were taken from the top and bottom of the canopy at the south exposed edge
and at the plot center in this investigation, with lower canopy leaves from both plot
positions being of the same chronological age, but only those at the plot center being
shaded. In a field production situation, this allowed researchers to separate the impacts
of the environment and chronological age on changes in photosynthetic efficiency
between sun and shadow leaves. Leaf gas exchange, modulated chlorophyll
fluorescence, and light absorbance measurements were used to establish the maximal
quantum yield of CO2 assimilation and its underlying physiological mechanisms. In this
section I believe the materials and approach they employed were adequate because
their chosen plants are nearly identical in height (216 m for Maize and 228 m for
Miscanthus), making it easier for the researcher to compare the two.

For the treatment of the data they use the ANOVA method which I think is
suitable for the study because like what mentioned, the researcher uses two variables
or species of C4 plants to be compared and observed. Also this method will help
researcher to gather data testing for the fixed effect of species (S effect: maize vs. M. x
giganteus), the fixed effect of canopy position (C effect: upper vs. lower canopy), and
the fixed effect of plot position (P effect: centre vs. edge), along with all two-way
interactions (S x P, S x C, P x C). Which makes it flexible for identifying and grouping
the factors. However, I had trouble comprehending and distinguishing what
measurement of photosynthesis they employed in the presented figures of data of the
research. On the plus side, the discussion section clearly defined the experiment's
outcome. It presented results that the researchers hypothesis was a null and instead
they found out that the decline in the efficiency of leaves at the bottom of the canopy
was not due to their age but to their altered light environment.

Furthermore, according to the research, Maize and Miscanthus are also closely
related to sugarcane and sorghum, therefore additional C4 crops could potentially
experience this drop in photosynthetic efficiency caused by the light environment.
Although both species are part of the same C4 evolutionary clade, maize hybrids have
been subject to productivity, for a long time, while M. x giganteus is only just emerging
as a crop. This may suggest that in next or future study they will use another C4 plants
that are already been part of agriculture for long time instead of M. x giganteus.

Overall, I believe the article's title is acceptable because it clearly states to the
readers the issue that causes maladaptation in C4 plants. Also, I believe that this study
has made a significant contribution to the agriculture sector because it not only raised
awareness about maladaptation, but it also raised the possibility that other major C4
crops, such as sorghum and sugarcane, are likely affected by the same issue. This
research could be crucial in overcoming this shade maladaptation and helping to meet
the world's growing food demand.