Tag: Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is the major process which supports plant survival. It’s the kitchen serving food (sugars) to the plant by converting the light energy. Leaves are the major site of photosynthesis for most plants. However, certain plants evolved unconventional ways of performing photosynthesis. In a…

Reiter et al. investigate the molecular basis for coupling factor CF1 recruitment in Arabidopsis thaliana. The Plant Cell (2022). By Thilo Rühle Background: Thylakoid ATP synthases are impressive molecular engines that harness the light-driven proton gradient to generate ATP during photosynthesis.…

Rubisco (ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase) is one of a kind, simultaneously recognized as one of the most abundant and important enzymes, and also widely characterized as flawed because it uses both O2 and CO2 as substrates, leading to both carboxylation and oxygenation of ribulose bisphosphate.…

Chloroplasts divide by binary fission driven by a protein ring, the position of which is regulated by the Min system (derived from the system in bacteria). The inner envelope membrane protein PARC6 (PARALOG OF ARC6) is a key component. Here Sun et al. generated crystal structures showing that PARC6 interacts…

Rubisco (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase) catalyzes the fixation of atmospheric carbon from CO2 to molecules used for biosynthesis and energy production. Several studies have focused on understanding the nature, complexity, activity, and regulation of Rubisco due to its key role in the production…

Procko et al. investigate the molecular identities of specialized photosynthetic cell types in leaves. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac167 By Carl Procko and Travis Lee. Salk Institute for Biological Studies, CA Background: Photosynthesis is arguably the most important biochemical process…

C4 and CAM are both photosynthetic strategies that concentrate CO2 upstream of RuBisCO, somewhat uncoupling photosynthetic carbon fixation from transpirational water loss. Both strategies use the enzyme PEP-carboxylase to produce an organic acid, which can then be decarboxylated to provide CO2 to RuBisCO.…

Choi et al. report that the Chlamydomonas bZIP transcription factor BLZ8 induces the carbon-concentrating mechanism to provide an electron sink pathway, reducing reactive oxygen species production under oxidative stress conditions. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab293 By Bae Young Choi,…