Increased SBPase activity improves photosynthesis and grain yield in wheat grown in greenhouse conditions

Abstract

To meet the growing demand for food, substantial improvements in yields are needed. This is particularly the case for wheat, where global yield has stagnated in recent years. Increasing photosynthesis has been identified as a primary target to achieve yield improvements. To increase leaf photosynthesis in wheat, the level of the Calvin–Benson cycle enzyme sedoheptulose-1,7-biphosphatase (SBPase) has been increased through transformation and expression of a Brachypodium distachyon SBPase gene construct. Transgenic lines with increased SBPase protein levels and activity were grown under greenhouse conditions and showed enhanced leaf photosynthesis and increased total biomass and dry seed yield. This showed the potential of improving yield potential by increasing leaf photosynthesis in a crop species such as wheat. The results are discussed with regard to future strategies for further improvement of photosynthesis in wheat.This article is part of the themed issue ‘Enhancing photosynthesis in crop plants: targets for improvement’.

A reductionist approach to dissecting grain weight and yield in wheat

“…Therefore, this suggests that it is important to consider interactions between source and sink tissues and understand how they can be simultaneously improved. Recent advances in understanding of photosynthesis and the effects of light/shade transitions promise to improve biomass accumulation due to increase CO 2 assimilation (Driever et al ; Taylor and Long ). Empirical selection for high biomass lines is also helping improve yield potential in breeding programs (Reynolds et al ).…”

Photosynthesis solutions to enhance productivity

“…These authors show that the adjustment of shade-grown flag leaf photosynthesis to full sunlight required about 15 min and that the time taken to gain maximum photosynthetic efficiency was dictated for the most part by the activation of the primary carboxylase of C3 photosynthesis, ribulose-1 : 5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco). The second paper is by Raines and co-workers [23], who describe how increasing the level of another enzyme involved in the Calvin-Benson cycle of CO 2 assimilation, sedoheptulose-1,7-biphosphatase (SBPase) leads to enhanced photosynthesis, increased total biomass and dry seed yield. The review by Hibberd & Reyna-Llorens [24] considers what can be learned from the evolution of C4 photosynthesis, a process that facilitates CO 2 concentration in the Rubisco environment leading not only to improved carbon capture but also to increasing water and nitrogen use efficiencies.…”

Overexpression of the RieskeFeS Protein Increases Electron Transport Rates and Biomass Yield

“…Transgenic studies, modeling approaches, and theoretical considerations provide evidence that increasing photosynthetic capacity is a viable route to increase the yield of crop plants (Zhu et al, 2010;Raines, 2011;Long et al, 2015;von Caemmerer and Furbank, 2016). There is now a growing body of experimental evidence showing that increasing the levels of photosynthetic enzymes in carbon metabolism results in increased photosynthesis and plant biomass (Miyagawa et al, 2001;Lefebvre et al, 2005;Raines, 2006Raines, , 2011Rosenthal et al, 2011;Uematsu et al, 2012;Simkin et al, 2015Simkin et al, , 2017Driever et al, 2017). In addition, the manipulation of photosynthetic electron transport by the introduction of the algal cytochrome c 6 protein has been shown to improve the efficiency of photosynthesis and to stimulate plant growth in low light (Chida et al, 2007).…”