Carbon dioxide enrichment alleviates heat stress by improving cellular redox homeostasis through an ABA-independent process in tomato plants

Plant responses to elevated CO₂ and high temperature are critically regulated through a complex network of phytohormones and redox homeostasis. However, the involvement of abscisic acid (ABA) in plant adaptation to heat stress under elevated CO₂ conditions has not been thoroughly studied. This study investigated the interactive effects of elevated CO₂ (800 μmol·mol(-1) ) and heat stress (42 °C for 24 h) on the endogenous level of ABA and the cellular redox state of two genotypes of tomato with different ABA biosynthesis capacities. Heat stress significantly decreased maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm) and leaf water potential, but also increased levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and electrolyte leakage (EL) in both genotypes. Heat-induced damage was more severe in the ABA-deficient mutant notabilis (not) than in its parental cultivar Ailsa Craig (Ailsa), suggesting that a certain level of endogenous ABA is required to minimise the heat-induced oxidative damage to the photosynthetic apparatus. Irrespective of genotype, the enrichment of CO₂ remarkably stimulated Fv/Fm, MDA and EL in heat-stressed plants towards enhanced tolerance. In addition, elevated CO₂ significantly strengthened the antioxidant capacity of heat-stressed tomato seedlings towards a reduced cellular redox state for a prolonged period, thereby mitigating oxidative stress. However, elevated CO₂ and heat stress did not alter the endogenous level of ABA or the expression of its biosynthetic gene NCED2 in either genotype, indicating that ABA is not involved in elevated CO₂ -induced heat stress alleviation. The results of this study suggest that elevated CO₂ alleviated heat stress through efficient regulation of the cellular redox poise in an ABA-independent manner in tomato plants.