Roles of RbcX in carboxysome biosynthesis in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongates PCC 7942 (Plant Physiol)
Plant Science Research WeeklyIntroduction of the cyanobacterial carboxysome into C3 crops represents a viable strategy to increase photosynthetic conversion efficiency and boost crop yield. Key to this challenge is gaining a full understanding of the carboxysome system in cyanobacteria, including how these microcompartments assemble…
Whole plant chamber to examine sensitivity of cereal gas exchange to changes in evaporative demand (Plant Methods)
Plant Science Research WeeklyStomata represent the entry point into the leaf for CO2 that will be fixed by rubisco in photosynthesis and the exit point of water as it is lost to the atmosphere. As such, they are subject to tight regulation in response to the environment so that water loss is minimised and a supply of CO2 is…
Rate of photosynthetic acclimation to fluctuating light varies widely among genotypes of wheat (bioRxiv)
Plant Science Research WeeklyThe speed at which photosynthesis is induced during shade-sun transitions, such as sun-flecks, contributes towards determining crop yield. The speed of induction can be limited by the dynamics of stomatal and mesophyll conductance, deactivation rates of photoprotective mechanisms, the acclimation rate…
Expert View: The nitrogen cost of photosynthesis (J Exp Bot)
Plant Science Research WeeklyModern crop production is intimately linked to the availability of nitrogen. Photosynthetic proteins (including rubisco) account for most of the nitrogen in leaves, a significant amount of which is removed during harvesting and must be replenished primarily through the application of synthetic nitrogen…
Review: Discovery of the canonical Calvin–Benson cycle (Photosynth Res)
Plant Science Research WeeklyIt has been over seventy years since Melvin Calvin and Andrew Benson first started on their journey to discovering the Calvin-Benson cycle – the series of biochemical reactions in which the Sun’s energy is converted to chemical energy stored inside the cells of plants, cyanobacteria and algae. …
What We're Reading: November 16th
Blog, WWR Full PostPhotosynthesis Special Issue
This week’s ‘What We’re Reading’ summarizes the latest papers from the field of photosynthesis research. This includes a review on the discovery of the Calvin-Benson cycle by Tom Sharkey, and an Expert View on the relationship between nitrogen and photosynthesis…
Heterohexamers formed by CcmK3 and CcmK4 increase the complexity of beta carboxysome shells (Plant Physiol)
Plant Science Research WeeklyCarboxysomes are protein-bound microcompartments of cyanobacteria that sequester Rubisco and carbonic anhydrase (which converts bicarbonate to carbon dioxide), thus enhancing Rubisco’s carboxylation efficiency. The carboxysome shell is made up of hexamer, pentamer and trimer modules, with selectively…
Carboxysome encapsulation of the CO2-fixing enzyme Rubisco in tobacco chloroplasts (Nature Comms.)
Plant Science Research WeeklyOne of the fundamental challenges facing terrestrial plants occurs when CO2 levels are depleted at Rubisco, causing its inefficient oxygenase activity to dominate. Some plants minimize this problem by adding a carbon-fixing step upstream of Rubisco, and various algae and cyanobacteria sequester Rubisco…
Dark-Induced Leaf Senescence
Plant Physiology, Plant Physiology: On The InsideSenescence in plants is a prelude to cell or organ death. The metabolites and macromolecules released during senescence are salvaged by the plant for use elsewhere. Generally, senescence occurs prior to programmed cell death (PCD), since the characteristic leaf yellowing can be reversed while PCD is…