Temperature and elevated CO₂ alter soybean seed yield and quality, exhibiting transgenerational effects on seedling...

Environmental conditions play a prime role in the growth and development of plant species, exerting a significant influence on their reproductive capacity. Soybean is sensitive to high temperatures during flowering and seed developmental stages. Little is known about the combined environmental effect of temperature and CO₂ on seed yield and quality and its future generation.

A study was conducted to examine the effect of temperature (22/14°C (low), 30/22°C (optimum), and 38/30°C (high)), and CO₂ (420 ppm (ambient; aCO₂) and 720 ppm (elevated; eCO₂)) on seed yield, quality, and transgenerational seedling vigor traits of soybean cultivars (DS25-1 and DS31-243) using Soil-Plant-Atmospheric-Research facility.

A significant temperature effect was recorded among yield and quality attributes. At high-temperature, the 100-seed weights of DS25-1 and DS31-243 declined by 40% and 24%, respectively, over the optimum temperature at aCO₂. The harvest index of varieties reduced by 70% when exposed to high temperature under both aCO2 and eCO₂, compared to the optimum temperature at aCO₂. The seed oil (- 2%) and protein (8%) content altered when developed under high temperature under aCO₂. Maximum sucrose (7.5%) and stachyose (3.8%) accumulation in seeds were observed when developed under low temperatures and eCO₂. When the growing temperature increased from optimum to high, the seed oleic acids increased (63%), while linoleic and linolenic acids decreased (- 28% and - 43%, respectively). Significant temperature and CO₂ effects were observed in progenies with the highest maximum seedling emergence (80%), lesser time to 50% emergence (5.5 days), and higher seedling vigor from parents grown at low-temperature treatment under eCO₂.

Exposure of plants to 38/30°C was detrimental to soybean seed yield, and eCO₂ levels did not compensate for this yield loss. The high temperature during seed developmental stages altered the chemical composition of the seed, leading to an increased content of monounsaturated fatty acids. The findings suggest that parental stress can significantly impact the development of offspring, indicating that epigenetic regulation or memory repose may be at play.