PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Gupta, S. M.
AU  - Agarwal, A.
AU  - Dev, B.
AU  - Kumar, K.
AU  - Prakash, O.
AU  - Arya, M. C.
AU  - Nasim, M.
TI  - Assessment of photosynthetic potential of indoor plants under cold stress
DP  - 2016 Mar 1
TA  - Photosynthetica
PG  - 138--142
VI  - 54
IP  - 1
AID - 10.1007/s11099-015-0173-7
IS  - 03003604
AB  - Photosynthetic parameters including net photosynthetic rate (P &lt;sub&gt;N&lt;/sub&gt;), transpiration rate (E), water-use efficiency (WUE), and stomatal conductance (g &lt;sub&gt;s&lt;/sub&gt;) were studied in indoor C&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; plants Philodendron domesticum (Pd), Dracaena fragans (Df), Peperomia obtussifolia (Po), Chlorophytum comosum (Cc), and in a CAM plant, Sansevieria trifasciata (St), exposed to various low temperatures (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25°C). All studied plants survived up to 0°C, but only St and Cc endured, while other plants wilted, when the temperature increased back to room temperature (25°C). The P &lt;sub&gt;N&lt;/sub&gt; declined rapidly with the decrease of temperature in all studied plants. St showed the maximum P &lt;sub&gt;N&lt;/sub&gt; of 11.9 μmol m&lt;sup&gt;-2&lt;/sup&gt; s&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt; at 25°C followed by Cc, Po, Pd, and Df. E also followed a trend almost similar to that of P &lt;sub&gt;N&lt;/sub&gt;. St showed minimum E (0.1 mmol m&lt;sup&gt;-2&lt;/sup&gt; s&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;) as compared to other studied C&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; plants at 25°C. The E decreased up to ≍4-fold at 5 and 0°C. Furthermore, a considerable decline in WUE was observed under cold stress in all C&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; plants, while St showed maximum WUE. Similarly, the g &lt;sub&gt;s&lt;/sub&gt; also declined gradually with the decrease in the temperature in all plants. Among C&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; plants, Pd and Po showed the maximum g &lt;sub&gt;s&lt;/sub&gt; of 0.07 mol m&lt;sup&gt;-2&lt;/sup&gt; s&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt; at 25°C followed by Df and Cc. However, St showed the minimum g &lt;sub&gt;s&lt;/sub&gt; that further decreased up to ∼4-fold at 0°C. In addition, the content of photosynthetic pigments [chlorophyll a, b, (a+b), and carotenoids] was varying in all studied plants at 0°C. Our findings clearly indicated the best photosynthetic potential of St compared to other studied plants. This species might be recommended for improving air quality in high-altitude closed environments.