Melatonin is involved in the regulation of carbohydrate metabolism and induction of cold tolerance in plants. The objective of this study was to investigate the roles of melatonin in modulation of carbon assimilation of wild‐type wheat and the Chl b‐deficient mutant ANK32B in response to elevated CO₂ concentration ([CO₂]) and the transgenerational effects of application of exogenous melatonin (hereafter identified as melatonin priming) on the cold tolerance in offspring. The results showed that the melatonin priming enhanced the carbon assimilation in ANK32B under elevated [CO₂], via boosting the activities of ATPase and sucrose synthesis and maintaining a relatively higher level of total chlorophyll concentration in leaves. In addition, melatonin priming in maternal plants at grain filling promoted the seed germination in offspring by accelerating the starch degradation and improved the cold tolerance of seedlings through activating the antioxidant enzymes and enhancing the photosynthetic electron transport efficiency. These findings suggest the important roles of melatonin in plant response to future climate change, indicating that the melatonin priming at grain filling in maternal plants could be an effective approach to improve cold tolerance of wheat offspring at seedling stage.

中文翻译：

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褪黑素减轻了高CO2浓度下低PS I限制的碳同化作用，并增强了叶绿素b缺陷型小麦的后代的耐寒性

褪黑素参与调节碳水化合物的代谢和诱导植物的耐冷性。本研究的目的是调查在野生型小麦的碳同化和叶绿素的调制褪黑激素的作用b缺陷型突变体ANK32B响应于升高的CO ₂浓度（[CO ₂ ]）和应用的跨代效果外源性褪黑激素（以下称为褪黑激素引发）对后代的耐寒性。结果表明，在[CO ₂ ]升高的情况下，褪黑素引发可以增强ANK32B的碳同化作用，这是通过增强ATP酶和蔗糖合成的活性，并保持叶片中较高的总叶绿素浓度。此外，充实母体植物中的褪黑激素引发谷粒加速淀粉降解，促进后代种子发芽，并通过激活抗氧化酶和提高光合电子传递效率，提高了幼苗的耐寒性。这些发现表明褪黑激素在植物对未来气候变化的响应中的重要作用，表明褪黑激素引发于母本植物的籽粒灌浆可能是提高幼苗期小麦后代耐寒性的有效途径。