Effect of different light intensity on physiology, antioxidant capacity and photosynthetic characteristics on wheat seedlings under high CO₂ concentration in a closed artificial ecosystem

The growth of plants under high carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentrations (≥ 1000 ppm) is explored for the climate change and the bioregenerative life support system (BLSS) environment of long-duration space missions. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a grass cultivated for cereal grain—a global staple food including astronauts. Light and CO₂ are both indispensable conditions for wheat seedlings. This study provides insights on the physiology, antioxidant capacity and photosynthetic characteristics of wheat seedlings under a range of photosynthetic photon flux densities in a closed system simulating BLSS with high CO₂ concentration. We found that the F_v/F_m, F_v/F₀, chlorophyll content, intrinsic water use efficiencies (WUE_i), membrane stability index (MSI), and malondialdehyde (MDA) of wheat seedlings grown under an intermediate light intensity of 600 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ environment were all largest. Interestingly, the high light intensity of 1200 mol m⁻² s⁻¹ treatment group exhibits the highest net photosynthetic rate but the lowest MDA content. The stomatal conductance and F₀ of high light intensity of 1000 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ treatment group were both significantly higher than that of other groups. Our study provides basic knowledge on the wheat growth in different environments, especially in a closed ecosystem with artificial lights.