Changing CO2 concentrations will continue to affect plant growth with consequences for ecosystem functioning. The adaptive capacity of C3 photosynthesis to changing CO2 concentrations is, however, insufficiently investigated so far. Here, we focused on the phylogenetic dynamics of maximum carboxylation rate (Vcmax) and maximum electron transport rate (Jmax)—two key determinants of photosynthetic capacity in C3 plants—and their relation to deep‐time dynamics in species diversification, speciation and atmospheric CO2 concentrations during the last 80 million years. We observed positive relationships between photosynthetic capacity and species diversification as well as speciation rates. We furthermore observed a shift in the relationships between photosynthetic capacity, evolutionary dynamics and prehistoric CO2 fluctuations about 30 million years ago. From this, we deduce strong links between photosynthetic capacity and evolutionary dynamics in C3 plants. We furthermore conclude that low CO2 environments in prehistory might have changed adaptive processes within the C3 photosynthetic pathway.

中文翻译：

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过去 8000 万年中光合能力、大气中 CO2 和 C3 植物多样化之间的重要联系


不断变化的 CO2 浓度将继续影响植物生长，从而对生态系统功能产生影响。然而，到目前为止，C3 光合作用对变化的 CO2 浓度的适应能力尚未得到充分研究。在这里，我们重点研究了 C3 植物光合能力的两个关键决定因素——最大羧化速率 （Vcmax） 和最大电子传递速率 （Jmax） 的系统发育动力学，以及它们与过去 8000 万年物种多样化、物种形成和大气 CO2 浓度的深时动力学的关系。我们观察到光合能力与物种多样化以及物种形成率之间存在正相关关系。我们还观察到大约 3000 万年前光合作用能力、进化动力学和史前 CO2 波动之间的关系发生了变化。由此，我们推断出 C3 植物的光合作用能力和进化动力学之间的紧密联系。我们进一步得出结论，史前时期的低 CO2 环境可能改变了 C3 光合作用途径内的适应性过程。