Enhancing Photosynthetic Efficiency of Field Crops for Climate Resilience

Plant physiological research sits at the core of contemporary agricultural science, particularly in the quest to improve photosynthetic efficiency in field crops facing the realities of climate change. Despite decades of advances, field-grown crops still fall considerably short of their theoretical photosynthetic potential, a limitation that is gaining urgency as global food security becomes increasingly jeopardized by unpredictable weather patterns, rising temperatures, water scarcity, and elevated atmospheric CO₂. While photosynthesis can, in some cases, be stimulated by changing conditions, the net effect of climate change is frequently negative, undermining plant metabolism by disrupting processes such as light harvesting, gas exchange, and enzyme functionality. Notable studies have illuminated the impacts of heat waves and drought on photosynthetic electron transport, RuBisCO activity, and canopy-level carbon assimilation, underscoring the pressing need for crops that can sustain high productivity and resilience in fluctuating field environments.Recent breakthroughs in plant physiology, genetic engineering, and high-throughput phenotyping are revolutionizing our understanding of the mechanisms that constrain or enhance photosynthesis. These advancements are driving research beyond traditional laboratory settings into dynamic, field-based systems—enabling deeper exploration of how light interception, stomatal conductance, carboxylation efficiency, and photoprotective mechanisms work together at both cellular and canopy levels. Integrating physiological, biochemical, and genetic insights is now recognized as crucial for developing crops that not only yield more, but can also thrive amid climatic stress. However, significant gaps remain in linking leaf-level mechanisms to whole-canopy performance under complex, real-world conditions, calling for more integrated, multidisciplinary approaches.This Research Topic aims to gather pioneering investigations and reviews evaluating strategies to improve the photosynthetic efficiency of field crops in the context of global climate change. It seeks to elucidate the physiological, biochemical, genetic, and technological processes that limit or augment photosynthesis—ranging from light capture and electron transport to canopy-level CO₂ assimilation. By connecting mechanistic insights at the leaf and enzyme level to canopy structure and resource utilization, the objective is to guide breeding and biotechnological innovation, enabling the development of crop varieties with enhanced productivity and resilience to future climates.The focus of this Research Topic is on research that advances our understanding and implementation of physiological, genetic, agronomic, and technological innovations to increase photosynthetic efficiency in field crops, particularly under stress conditions associated with climate change. Contributions should engage with both mechanistic understanding and practical field-level applications, bridging gaps between lab-based insights and crop improvement in situ. We welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Interactions between leaf function and canopy structure shaping photosynthetic efficiency• Light capture, electron transport, PSII regulation, and photoprotection under abiotic stress• Biochemical and enzyme-level constraints, including RuBisCO kinetics and antioxidative pathways• High-throughput phenotyping, gas exchange, and chlorophyll fluorescence as diagnostic and modeling approaches• Translating photosynthetic traits into crop breeding, genetic engineering, and field validation strategiesIf submitting, we welcome original research articles, reviews, perspectives, and methods papers that align with these themes. Topic editors: Ivana Varga, Erika Tünde Kutasy, Antonela Markulj Kulundžić Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/76425/enhancing-photosynthetic-efficiency-of-field-crops-for-climate-resilience