The yield potential ( Y p ) of a grain crop is the seed mass per unit ground area obtained under optimum growing conditions without weeds, pests and diseases. It is determined by the product of the available light energy and by the genetically determined properties: efficiency of light capture ( e i ), the efficiency of conversion of the intercepted light into biomass ( e c ) and the proportion of biomass partitioned into grain ( h ). Plant breeding brings h and e i close to their theoretical maxima, leaving e c , primarily determined by photosynthesis, as the only remaining major prospect for improving Y p . Leaf photosynthetic rate, however, is poorly correlated with yield when different genotypes of a crop species are compared. This led to the viewpoint that improvement of leaf photosynthesis has little value for improving Y p . By contrast, the many recent experiments that compare the growth of a genotype in current and future projected elevated [CO 2 ] environments show that increase in leaf photosynthesis is closely associated with similar increases in yield. Are there opportunities to achieve similar increases by genetic manipulation? Six potential routes of increasing e c by improving photosynthetic efficiency were explored, ranging from altered canopy architecture to improved regeneration of the acceptor molecule for CO 2 . Collectively, these changes could improve e c and, therefore, Y p by c . 50%. Because some changes could be achieved by transgenic technology, the time of the development of commercial cultivars could be considerably less than by conventional breeding and potentially, within 10-15 years.

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Increase in demand for our primary foodstuffs is outstripping increase in yields, an expanding gap that indicates large potential food shortages by mid-century. This comes at a time when yield improvements are slowing or stagnating as the approaches of the Green Revolution reach their biological limits. Photosynthesis, which has been improved little in crops and falls far short of its biological limit, emerges as the key remaining route to increase the genetic yield potential of our major crops. Thus, there is a timely need to accelerate our understanding of the photosynthetic process in crops to allow informed and guided improvements via in-silico-assisted genetic engineering. Potential and emerging approaches to improving crop photosynthetic efficiency are discussed, and the new tools needed to realize these changes are presented.

Pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.) is the most economically valuable crop possessing crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM), a photosynthetic carbon assimilation pathway with high water use efficiency, and the second most important tropical fruit after banana in terms of international trade. We sequenced the genomes of pineapple varieties ‘F153’ and ‘MD2’, and a wild pineapple relative A. bracteatus accession CB5. The pineapple genome has one fewer ancient whole genome duplications than sequenced grass genomes and, therefore, provides an important reference for elucidating gene content and structure in the last common ancestor of extant members of the grass family (Poaceae). Pineapple has a conserved karyotype with seven pre rho duplication chromosomes that are ancestral to extant grass karyotypes. The pineapple lineage has transitioned from C3 photosynthesis to CAM with CAM-related genes exhibiting a diel expression pattern in photosynthetic tissues using beta-carbonic anhydrase (βCA) for initial capture of CO2. Promoter regions of all three βCA genes contain a CCA1 binding site that can bind circadian core oscillators. CAM pathway genes were enriched with cis-regulatory elements including the morning (CCACAC) and evening (AAAATATC) elements associated with regulation of circadian-clock genes, providing the first link between CAM and the circadian clock regulation. Gene-interaction network analysis revealed both activation and repression of regulatory elements that control key enzymes in CAM photosynthesis, indicating that CAM evolved by reconfiguration of pathways preexisting in C3 plants. Pineapple CAM photosynthesis is the result of regulatory neofunctionalization of preexisting gene copies and not acquisition of neofunctionalized genes via whole genome or tandem gene duplication.

Modern sugarcanes are polyploid interspecific hybrids, combining high sugar content from Saccharum officinarum with hardiness, disease resistance and ratooning of Saccharum spontaneum. Sequencing of a haploid S. spontaneum, AP85-441, facilitated the assembly of 32 pseudo-chromosomes comprising 8 homologous groups of 4 members each, bearing 35,525 genes with alleles defined. The reduction of basic chromosome number from 10 to 8 in S. spontaneum was caused by fissions of 2 ancestral chromosomes followed by translocations to 4 chromosomes. Surprisingly, 80% of nucleotide binding site-encoding genes associated with disease resistance are located in 4 rearranged chromosomes and 51% of those in rearranged regions. Resequencing of 64 S. spontaneum genomes identified balancing selection in rearranged regions, maintaining their diversity. Introgressed S. spontaneum chromosomes in modern sugarcanes are randomly distributed in AP85-441 genome, indicating random recombination among homologs in different S. spontaneum accessions. The allele-defined Saccharum genome offers new knowledge and resources to accelerate sugarcane improvement.

The CO2 concentration at the site of carboxylation inside the chloroplast stroma depends not only on the stomatal conductance, but also on the conductance of CO2 between substomatal cavities and the site of CO2 fixation. This conductance, commonly termed mesophyll conductance (gm), significantly constrains the rate of photosynthesis. Here we show that estimates of gm are influenced by the amount of respiratory and photorespiratory CO2 from the mitochondria diffusing towards the chloroplasts. This results in an apparent CO2 and oxygen sensitivity of gm that does not imply a change in intrinsic diffusion properties of the mesophyll, but depends on the ratio of mitochondrial CO2 release to chloroplast CO2 uptake. We show that this effect (1) can bias the estimation of the CO2 photocompensation point and non-photorespiratory respiration in the light; (2) can affect the estimates of ribulose 1·5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) kinetic constants in vivo; and (3) results in an apparent obligatory correlation between stomatal conductance and gm. We further show that the amount of photo(respiratory) CO2 that is refixed by Rubisco can be directly estimated through measurements of gm.

Enhancing the output of Rubisco, an enzyme that converts atmospheric CO 2 into energy-rich molecules, could improve photo-synthetic efficiency, and therefore crop yield, in plants. Maize is a C4 grass, which uses four-carbon compounds to carry CO 2 into an interior compartment; subsequent release of CO 2 increases its local concentration and favors efficient activity of Rubisco. Rice, however, is a C3 grass and lacks this pathway. Wang et al. compared transcripts and metabolites in developing maize and rice plants as a step toward understanding the biochemical and anatomical bases of C4 photosynthesis. Furthermore, Lin et al. transplanted Rubisco from a cyanobacterium, which also relies on a CO 2-concentrating apparatus, into tobacco (a C3 plant) chloro-plasts.-GJC Nat.

C 4 photosynthesis drives productivity in several major food crops and bioenergy grasses, including maize (Zea mays), sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), Miscanthus x giganteus, and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). Gains in productivity associated with C 4 photosynthesis include improved water and nitrogen use efficiencies. Thus, engineering C 4 traits into C 3 crops is an attractive target for crop improvement. However, the lack of a small, rapid cycling genetic model system to study C 4 photosynthesis has limited progress in dissecting the regulatory networks underlying the C 4 syndrome. Setaria viridis is a member of the Panicoideae clade and is a close relative of several major feed, fuel, and bioenergy grasses. It is a true diploid with a relatively small genome of ;510 Mb. Its short stature, simple growth requirements, and rapid life cycle will greatly facilitate genetic studies of the C 4 grasses. Importantly, S. viridis uses an NADP-malic enzyme subtype C 4 photosynthetic system to fix carbon and therefore is a potentially powerful model system for dissecting C 4 photosynthesis. Here, we summarize some of the recent advances that promise greatly to accelerate the use of S. viridis as a genetic system. These include our recent successful efforts at regenerating plants from seed callus, establishing a transient transformation system, and developing stable transformation. Why Study C 4 ?C 4 photosynthesis is the primary mode of carbon capture for some of the world's most important food, feed, and fuel crops, including maize (Zea mays), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum), millets (e.g. Panicum miliaceum, Pennisetum glaucum, and Setaria italica), Miscanthus x giganteus, and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). In contrast with C 3 plants, C 4 plants first fix CO 2 into a C 4 acid before delivering the CO 2 to the Calvin cycle (Hatch and Slack, 1966;Hatch, 1971). For example, in maize and sorghum leaves, CO 2 entering mesophyll (M) cells is first fixed into oxaloacetate, which is then reduced to malate in the M chloroplasts. The malate then diffuses into the inner bundle sheath (BS) cells and is transported into the BS chloroplast. There, malate is decarboxylated by NADP-malic enzyme, releasing CO 2 close to ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco). This carbon shuttle greatly lowers rates of photorespiration as Rubisco is both isolated from the site of O 2 evolution (oxygen evolving complex of photosystem II) and also maintained in a CO 2 -rich environment. Indeed, in mature maize or sorghum leaves, rates of photorespiration are at the limits of detection under conditions where C 3 plants lose up to 30% of their photosynthetic capacity due to photorespiration (Zhu et al., 2008).