It is widely accepted that the growth of C3 plants responds more to elevated CO2 (eCO2) than that of C4 plants, since photosynthesis in C3 plants is more limited by the current atmospheric CO2:O2 ratio due to the oxygenase activity of Rubisco. This has been established empirically in short-term eCO2 experiments. In this study, Reich […]
While C4 photosynthesis is relatively well understood, the research community is still some distance from converting a C3 crop to one that performs C4 photosynthesis. There are many reasons for this, including the complex requirement to reconstitute Kranz leaf anatomy in a C3 species, and the elusive search for regulators of C4 gene expression. The […]
Increasing carbon fixation through the Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle is a viable strategy to boost crop yields, as has been demonstrated through both experimental and modelling approaches. In this review, Andralojc et al outline the most recent advancements in this research field. The authors firstly describe the reaction mechanism of the carbon-fixing enzyme Rubisco, and introduce […]
Plant growth is often limited by the availability of nitrogen (N), which is required to synthesise monomers and macromolecules, and is especially important in the synthesis of the carbon assimilating enzymes of the Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle. In this article, Kelly has demonstrated that photosynthetic efficiency is reflected in both genome and transcript nucleotide composition, due […]
A major factor in determining photosynthetic rate is the availability of CO2 at the site of fixation in the chloroplast stroma. Classically, this has been thought to be mainly limited by stomatal conductance (diffusion from the air, through stomata, to sub-stomatal cavities). However, more recently it has been demonstrated that mesophyll conductance (gm, diffusion from […]
Mesophyll CO2 conductance (gm) is an important factor in determining the concentration of CO2 at the site of fixation in the chloroplast stroma, and as such is crucial for determining photosynthetic capacity. The mesophyll cell wall provides a major site of resistance to CO2 diffusion into the stroma from the intercellular air space. Ellsworth et […]
It is relatively simple to determine net O2 flux in leaves. However, this data provides no information on the underlying processes responsible for this flux, namely gross oxygen production (GOP, water splitting), mitochondrial respiration in light, Rubisco oxygenation, and photorespiration. In this ‘Breakthrough Technologies’ paper, Gauthier et al outline a method that utilises H218O labelling […]
Photosynthesis Special Issue This week’s ‘What We’re Reading’ summarizes the latest papers from the field of photosynthesis research. This includes three reviews: the first focuses on the effect of elevated CO2 on secondary metabolism, the second looks at ways to improve carbon fixation, and the third examines the role of C3 bundle sheath cells in photosynthesis-associated […]
Plants are able to sense and respond to temperature changes in their environment. However, the mechanism by which high temperature is sensed and then relayed to affect the expression of heat shock transcription factors (HSFs) is unclear. Dickinson et al. demonstrated that Arabidopsis plants show diurnal variation in thermotolerance, which correlates with expression of the […]