Engineering cytosolic carbonic anhydrase to establish C4 photosynthesis in rice
Plant Science Research WeeklyIn mesophyll cells, carbonic anhydrase is mainly located in the chloroplast, however it is in the cytosol in plants with a C4 carbon concentrating mechanism. There is interest in relocating carbonic anhydrase to the cytosol of C3 plants as a first step in the introduction of a carbon concentrating mechanism.…
Understanding the role of metabolites in the evolution of C4 photosynthesis
Plant Science Research WeeklyPlants that use C4 photosynthesis, whereby carbon is concentrated around RuBisCo in bundle sheath cells, have high water and nitrogen use efficiencies. Thus, understanding how C4 photosynthesis evolves is of much interest. The Flaveria genus provides a unique opportunity for this, as it contains species…
Single-nucleus sequencing reveals transition from C3 to C4 photosynthesis
Plant Science Research WeeklySometime in the Cretaceous period (dinosaur time!), some monocots acquired a special pathway for carbon fixation, rendering them more efficient particularly in hot or dry environments. In most monocots, carbon is fixed by Rubisco in the mesophyll cells. In the innovative pathway, carbon fixation is split…
Compartmentation of photosynthesis gene expression in C4 maize depends on time of day
Plant Science Research WeeklyC4 photosynthesis involves the compartmentalization of the photosynthetic reactions across bundle sheath and mesophyll cells, which requires cell-specific gene expression; however, we do not fully understand how this occurs or how photoperiod impacts it. Here maize (Zea mays) was grown in constant light/temperature…
A three-way dance: NAD-ME switches subunits to perform different tasks
The Plant Cell: In a NutshellHüdig and Tronconi et al. reveal that the housekeeping and C4-decarboxylase functions of a C4 enzyme are performed by isoforms that combine the same α subunit with different β subunits. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab265
Meike Hüdig, Molecular Plant Physiology, University of Bonn;…