A Pollen Carbonic Anhydrase Promotes Male Fertility Under Elevated Carbon Dioxide in Tomato.

Elevated CO2 enhances tomato pollen vigor through β-carbonic anhydrase 2, which is essential for maintaining male fertility under climate change conditions.

• Why it matters: Understanding how rising atmospheric CO2 affects plant reproductive success is crucial for crop resilience and food security amid climate change.
• What they did: Researchers used genetic and molecular techniques to identify βCA2 as a pollen-specific CO2 sensor, demonstrating its role in promoting pollen germination and fertility.
• The result: Overexpressing βCA2 mimics high-CO2 effects, revealing a pathway linking CO2 perception to intracellular transport and cell wall remodeling, which supports male fertility in tomato.