title: Exploiting the engine of C(4) photosynthesis.
abstract: Ever since the discovery of C(4) photosynthesis in the mid-1960s, plant biologists have envisaged the introduction of the C(4) photosynthetic pathway into C(3) crops such as rice and soybeans. Recent advances in genomics capabilities, and new evolutionary and developmental studies indicate that C(4) engineering will be feasible in the next few decades. Furthermore, better understanding of the function of C(4) photosynthesis provides new ways to improve existing C(4) crops and bioenergy species, for example by creating varieties with ultra-high water and nitrogen use efficiencies. In the case of C(4) engineering, the main enzymes of the C(4) metabolic cycle have already been engineered into various C(3) plants. In contrast, knowledge of the genes controlling Kranz anatomy lags far behind. Combining traditional genetics, high-throughput sequencing technologies, systems biology, bioinformatics, and the use of the new C(4) model species Setaria viridis, the discovery of the key genes controlling the expression of C(4) photosynthesis can be dramatically accelerated. Sustained investment in the research areas directly related to C(4) engineering has the potential for substantial return in the decades to come, primarily by increasing crop production at a time when global food supplies are predicted to fall below world demand.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S3B2 Canada. r.sage@utoronto.ca
authors.forename: Rowan F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Sage
authors.forename: Xin-Guang
authors.initials: XG
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D057005:Bioengineering / Q000379:methods*; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000378:metabolism; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D010788:Photosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D012273:Ribulose-Bisphosphate Carboxylase / Q000378:metabolism; D032983:Setaria Plant / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D012273:Ribulose-Bisphosphate Carboxylase