Enhancing C3 Photosynthesis

Caemmerer, Susanne von; Evans, John R.

doi:10.1104/pp.110.160952

Cited by 116 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 26 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…A major limiting factor in carbon fixation is CO 2 transport from the intercellular airspace of leaves to the site of carboxylation within the mesophyll chloroplast, entailing movement across several compartments (25,26). Although carbonic anhydrases are expected to play a critical role, their function in CO 2 conductance and delivery to Rubisco has yet to be clearly defined.…”

Section: Targets Of Opportunitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Redesigning photosynthesis to sustainably meet global food and bioenergy demand

Ort

Merchant

Alric

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

798

628

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The world's crop productivity is stagnating whereas population growth, rising affluence, and mandates for biofuels put increasing demands on agriculture. Meanwhile, demand for increasing cropland competes with equally crucial global sustainability and environmental protection needs. Addressing this looming agricultural crisis will be one of our greatest scientific challenges in the coming decades, and success will require substantial improvements at many levels. We assert that increasing the efficiency and productivity of photosynthesis in crop plants will be essential if this grand challenge is to be met. Here, we explore an array of prospective redesigns of plant systems at various scales, all aimed at increasing crop yields through improved photosynthetic efficiency and performance. Prospects range from straightforward alterations, already supported by preliminary evidence of feasibility, to substantial redesigns that are currently only conceptual, but that may be enabled by new developments in synthetic biology. Although some proposed redesigns are certain to face obstacles that will require alternate routes, the efforts should lead to new discoveries and technical advances with important impacts on the global problem of crop productivity and bioenergy production.light capture/conversion | carbon capture/conversion | smart canopy | enabling plant biotechnology tools | sustainable crop production Increasing demands for global food production over the next several decades portend a huge burden on the world's shrinking farmlands. Increasing global affluence, population growth, and demands for a bioeconomy (including livestock feed, bioenergy, chemical feedstocks, and biopharmaceuticals) will all require increased agricultural productivity, perhaps by as much as 60-120% over 2005 levels (e.g., refs. 1 and 2), putting increased productivity on a collision course with environmental and sustainability goals (3). The 45 y from 1960 to 2005 saw global food production grow ∼160%, mostly (135%) by improved production on

show abstract

Section: Targets Of Opportunitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Redesigning photosynthesis to sustainably meet global food and bioenergy demand

Ort

Merchant

Alric

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

798

628

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…One fundamental component of plant productivity that has not been used to select for increased yield is photosynthesis. There is now the opportunity to exploit our extensive knowledge of this fundamental process for the benefit of humankind (von Caemmerer and Evans, 2010;Zhu et al, 2010a).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing Photosynthetic Carbon Assimilation in C3 Plants to Improve Crop Yield: Current and Future Strategies

2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…One possible solution is to "supercharge" photosynthesis by improving the C 3 cycle (2,3). Although a simple idea, this is a complex challenge that involves several possible alternatives.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Isoleucine 309 acts as a C ₄ catalytic switch that increases ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (rubisco) carboxylation rate in Flaveria

Whitney

Sharwood

Orr

et al. 2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

134

138

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Improving global yields of important agricultural crops is a complex challenge. Enhancing yield and resource use by engineering improvements to photosynthetic carbon assimilation is one potential solution. During the last 40 million years C 4 photosynthesis has evolved multiple times, enabling plants to evade the catalytic inadequacies of the CO 2 -fixing enzyme, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (rubisco). Compared with their C 3 ancestors, C 4 plants combine a faster rubisco with a biochemical CO 2 -concentrating mechanism, enabling more efficient use of water and nitrogen and enhanced yield. Here we show the versatility of plastome manipulation in tobacco for identifying sequences in C 4 -rubisco that can be transplanted into C 3 -rubisco to improve carboxylation rate (V C ). Using transplastomic tobacco lines expressing native and mutated rubisco large subunits (L-subunits) from Flaveria pringlei (C 3 ), Flaveria floridana (C 3 -C 4 ), and Flaveria bidentis (C 4 ), we reveal that Met-309-Ile substitutions in the L-subunit act as a catalytic switch between C 4 ( 309 Ile; faster V C , lower CO 2 affinity) and C 3 ( 309 Met; slower V C , higher CO 2 affinity) catalysis. Application of this transplastomic system permits further identification of other structural solutions selected by nature that can increase rubisco V C in C 3 crops. Coengineering a catalytically faster C 3 rubisco and a CO 2 -concentrating mechanism within C 3 crop species could enhance their efficiency in resource use and yield.CO 2 assimilation | rbcL mutagenesis | gas exchange | chloroplast transformation T he future uncertainties of global climate change and estimates of unsustainable population growth have increased the urgency of improving crop yields (1). One possible solution is to "supercharge" photosynthesis by improving the C 3 cycle (2, 3). Although a simple idea, this is a complex challenge that involves several possible alternatives. Many of these alternatives focus on enhancing the performance of the CO 2 -fixing enzyme ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP) carboxylase/oxygenase (rubisco), which catalyses the first step in the synthesis of carbohydrates. Despite its pivotal role, rubisco is a slow catalyst, completing only one to four carboxylation reactions per catalytic site per second in plants (4, 5). Moreover CO 2 not only is fixed through a complex catalytic process but also must compete with O 2 . The oxygenation of RuBP produces 2-phosphoglycolate, whose recycling by photorespiration requires energy and results in the futile loss of fixed carbon [∼30% of fixed CO 2 in many C 3 plants (6)].To compensate for rubisco's catalytic limitations, plants invest as much as 25% of their leaf nitrogen in rubisco (7). This value is much lower in C 4 plants, where a biochemical CO 2 -concentrating mechanism (CCM) elevates CO 2 around rubisco. This optimized microenvironment allows rubisco to operate close to its maximal activity, reducing O 2 competition. This CCM has enabled C 4 plants to evolve rubiscos with substantially im...

show abstract

Enhancing C3 Photosynthesis

Cited by 116 publications

References 26 publications

Redesigning photosynthesis to sustainably meet global food and bioenergy demand

Redesigning photosynthesis to sustainably meet global food and bioenergy demand

Increasing Photosynthetic Carbon Assimilation in C3 Plants to Improve Crop Yield: Current and Future Strategies

Isoleucine 309 acts as a C ₄ catalytic switch that increases ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (rubisco) carboxylation rate in Flaveria

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Enhancing C3 Photosynthesis

Cited by 116 publications

References 26 publications

Redesigning photosynthesis to sustainably meet global food and bioenergy demand

Redesigning photosynthesis to sustainably meet global food and bioenergy demand

Increasing Photosynthetic Carbon Assimilation in C3 Plants to Improve Crop Yield: Current and Future Strategies

Isoleucine 309 acts as a C 4 catalytic switch that increases ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (rubisco) carboxylation rate in Flaveria

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Isoleucine 309 acts as a C ₄ catalytic switch that increases ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (rubisco) carboxylation rate in Flaveria