Sorghum bicolor prioritizes the recovery of its photosynthetic activity when re-watered after severe drought stress,while manages to preserve it under elevated CO2 and drought

Understanding plant response and resilience to drought under a high CO₂ environment will be crucial to ensure crop production in the future. Sorghum bicolor is a C₄ plant that resists drought better than other crops, which could make it a good alternative to be grown under future climatic conditions. Here, we analyse the physiological response of sorghum under 350 ppm CO₂ (aCO₂) or 700 ppm CO₂ (eCO₂) with drought (D) or without drought (WW) for 9, 13 and 16 days; as well as its resilience under long (R1: 9D + 7R) or short (R2: 13D + 3R) recovery treatments. Sorghum showed elevated rates of gs under aCO₂ and WW, which resulted in a significant decrease in Ψ_w, gs, E, Φ_PSII, F_v’/F_m′ when exposed to drought. Consequently, A was greatly decreased. When re-watered, both re-watering treatments prioritized A recovery by restoring photosynthetic machinery under aCO₂, whereas under eCO₂ plants required little recovery since plant were hardly affected by drought. However, sorghum growth rate for aboveground organs did not reach control values, indicating a slower long-term recovery. Overall, these results provide information about the resilience of sorghum and its utility as a suitable candidate for the drought episodes of the future.