The fern <i>Nephrolepis exaltata</i> is largely unresponsive to climate change conditions at both physiological and metabolic levels

Climate change is impacting the performance of plants worldwide. However, the impact on ferns, the second-most diverse lineage of vascular plants, has received little attention. Here, we investigated the effects of one of the most claimed scenarios of the climatic change: drought (D), high temperature (HT) and high CO<sub>2</sub> concentration (<sub>H</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>) on a fern (Nephrolepis exaltata) and a commonly studied angiosperm (Brassica oleracea) at photosynthetic, anatomical, and metabolic levels. Leaf anatomy was slightly affected by stress conditions in both species. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that B. oleracea's physiological responses to <sub>H</sub>CO<sub>2</sub> were greater than N. exaltata's. Lipids and primary metabolites levels differed in response to stress in B. oleracea. Notably, the combination of D, HT, and <sub>H</sub>CO<sub>2</sub> exacerbated the changes in primary metabolites, reducing amino and organic acids levels. Interestingly, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine levels showed varied responses, increasing under HT and decreasing under <sub>H</sub>CO<sub>2</sub> or combined stress in B. oleracea. In contrast, the fern was mostly unresponsive to D, HT, <sub>H</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>, and the combination among them at the metabolic level. Beyond providing important information concerning the trade-off between carbon uptake and stress acclimation mechanisms, our study indicates minor fern responses to D, HT, <sub>H</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>, suggesting differential impacts of climate change on ferns and angiosperms.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
The Plant Journal
Published
2025-08-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.70397
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Plant and animal studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.03

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

The fern Nephrolepis exaltata is largely unresponsive to climate change conditions at both physiological and metabolic levels

Fermı́n Morales, Jaume Flexas, Marc Carriquí, Inmaculada Pascual et al.
1 citations
The Plant Journal
Plant and animal studies
3.03
article

The fern Nephrolepis exaltata is largely unresponsive to climate change conditions at both physiological and metabolic levels

Fermı́n Morales, Jaume Flexas, Marc Carriquí, Inmaculada Pascual, Manuel Sánchez‐Díaz, Asdrúbal Burgos, Íker Aranjuelo, Amadeo Urdiain, Danilo M. Daloso, Carlos M. Figueroa, Valéria F. Lima, Miquel Ribas‐Carbó, Julia Smirnova, Alisdair Robert Fernie, Iván Jauregui, Jorge Gago, Héctor Santesteban, Yariv Brotman, Juan José Irigoyen, Mónica Oyarzun
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Climate change is impacting the performance of plants worldwide. However, the impact on ferns, the second-most diverse lineage of vascular plants, has received little attention. Here, we investigated the effects of one of the most claimed scenarios of the climatic change: drought (D), high temperature (HT) and high CO<sub>2</sub> concentration (<sub>H</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>) on a fern (Nephrolepis exaltata) and a commonly studied angiosperm (Brassica oleracea) at photosynthetic, anatomical, and metabolic levels. Leaf anatomy was slightly affected by stress conditions in both species. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that B. oleracea's physiological responses to <sub>H</sub>CO<sub>2</sub> were greater than N. exaltata's. Lipids and primary metabolites levels differed in response to stress in B. oleracea. Notably, the combination of D, HT, and <sub>H</sub>CO<sub>2</sub> exacerbated the changes in primary metabolites, reducing amino and organic acids levels. Interestingly, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine levels showed varied responses, increasing under HT and decreasing under <sub>H</sub>CO<sub>2</sub> or combined stress in B. oleracea. In contrast, the fern was mostly unresponsive to D, HT, <sub>H</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>, and the combination among them at the metabolic level. Beyond providing important information concerning the trade-off between carbon uptake and stress acclimation mechanisms, our study indicates minor fern responses to D, HT, <sub>H</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>, suggesting differential impacts of climate change on ferns and angiosperms.

The Plant JournalVol. 123(3)
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (IL), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ES), Universidad de Guadalajara (MX), Universidade Federal do Ceará (BR), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (DE), Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology (DE), Gobierno de Navarra (ES), Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral (AR), Agrobiotechnology Institute (ES), Universitat de les Illes Balears (ES), Universidad de Navarra (ES)
European Commission, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, European Regional Development Fund, Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Division of Graduate Education
Climate action
Openalex Percentile: Top 9%
Plant and animal studies
3.03
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.