title: Prospects for improving CO2 fixation in C3-crops through understanding C4-Rubisco biogenesis and catalytic diversity.
abstract: By operating a CO2 concentrating mechanism, C4-photosynthesis offers highly successful solutions to remedy the inefficiency of the CO2-fixing enzyme Rubisco. C4-plant Rubisco has characteristically evolved faster carboxylation rates with low CO2 affinity. Owing to high CO2 concentrations in bundle sheath chloroplasts, faster Rubisco enhances resource use efficiency in C4 plants by reducing the energy and carbon costs associated with photorespiration and lowering the nitrogen investment in Rubisco. Here, we show that C4-Rubisco from some NADP-ME species, such as maize, are also of potential benefit to C3-photosynthesis under current and future atmospheric CO2 pressures. Realizing this bioengineering endeavour necessitates improved understanding of the biogenesis requirements and catalytic variability of C4-Rubisco, as well as the development of transformation capabilities to engineer Rubisco in a wider variety of food and fibre crops.
authors.affiliation: ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, 134 Linnaeus Way, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia. Electronic address: robert.sharwood@anu.edu.au.
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Sharwood
authors.affiliation: ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia.
authors.forename: Oula
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ghannoum
authors.affiliation: ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, 134 Linnaeus Way, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia.
authors.forename: Spencer M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Whitney
mesh_terms: D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000378:metabolism*; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000378:metabolism; D010788:Photosynthesis / Q000502:physiology; D012273:Ribulose-Bisphosphate Carboxylase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D012273:Ribulose-Bisphosphate Carboxylase