Tag: Bioenergetics

Photosynthetic capacity varies hugely within an individual over time, between individuals in different environments, and between species. Demming-Adams et al. review the processes that affect intrinsic photosynthetic capacity. Plants modulate their intrinsic photosynthetic capacity according to input…

In C3 plants at ambient CO2 levels, Rubisco’s oxygenation reaction occurs about once for every three carboxylation reactions. One of the oxygenation products, 2-phosphoglycolate, is rapidly dephosphorylated to glycolate which is toxic and inhibitory to photosynthesis. Glycolate has to be removed from…

The CO2-fixing enzyme ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase (Rubisco) works most efficiently at high concentrations of CO2. Many organisms have evolved CO2-concentrating mechanisms (CCMs), such as the PEP-carboxylation that occurs upstream of Rubisco in C4 plants. Diatoms and other eukaryotic algae use a…

Within the mitochondrial electron transport chain, complex II (succinate dehydrogenase [SDH]) oxidizes succinate to fumarate by transferring electrons to ubiquinone (UQ), which is reduced to ubiquinol. The enzyme is formed by four subunits: a flavoprotein (SDH1), which contains the FAD cofactor, an iron…

A model is only as good as the data that go into it (garbage in, garbage out), so any effort to improve remote sensing data will contribute to better global models. Badgley et al. describe a new parameter, near-infrared reflectance of vegetation (NIRV), that more accurately quantifies photosynthesis…

Of the 3000 or so proteins housed in the chloroplast, we know the functions of only a few hundred. One approach to identify function is to first identify plastid proteins found exclusively in photosynthetic organisms. This subset, GreenCut2, is further subdivided by whether the proteins are found in…

In photosynthesis, light energy generates proton motive force (pmf) across the thylakoid membrane. The establishment and maintenance of pmf involves numerous membrane transporters as well as other ions.  Szabò and Septea review how various ions (including K+, Na+, Fe2+, Cu+, Mn2+, Ca2+, Cl–) contribute…

Nature journal published a special “Plant Insights” section featuring several excellent reviews.  Zipfel and Oldroyd review Plant signalling in symbiosis and immunity (10.1038/nature22009), Bevan et al. write about Genomic innovation for crop improvement (10.1038/nature22011), Scheres and van der…