Tag: Photosynthesis

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…

Phosphorus (P) is an essential macronutrient, and P deficiency limits plant productivity. P influences many aspects of photosynthesis P-deficient plants typically remain green and do not develop leaf chlorosis and yet P starvation immediately affects CO2 assimilation. Specifically, P deficiency is believed…

The carbon-fixing enzyme Rubisco (Ribulose‐1,5‐bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase) is much-maligned and has been described as “sluggish” and with “confused specificity”. In this new Review, Bathellier et al. argue that it is “not really so bad”. Their reasoning is that when Rubisco’s…

Following up on earlier studies in which they introduced cyanobacterial Rubisco into tobacco, Lin and Hanson endeavoured to introduce into tobacco Rubisco genes from a red alga, which has an unusually high CO2/O2 specificity. Although they were able to demonstrate the presence of the genes and their…

Phosphorus deficiency is widespread and can severely limit plant growth.  Carstensen et al. investigated how P deficiency affects photosynthesis in barley. They compared chlorophyll a fluorescence transients (OJIP transients) between P-deficient, sufficient and resupplied plants. They observed depletion…

Du et al. investigate an important protein that regulates photosynthesis under stress. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00446.                                                                               Background:…

By Johan Ceuster and Bram Van de Poel Abstract The volatile plant hormone ethylene plays a regulatory role in many developmental processes and in biotic and abiotic stress responses. One of the under-explored actions of ethylene is its regulation of photosynthesis and associated components such…

Although the reactions and enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of chlorophyll are well known, the entire pathway has never before been reconstituted in a non-photosynthetic organism. Chen et al. have done this. The cells (E. coli) expressing the full pathway accumulate chlorophyll and look green! However,…