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Overexpression of the Rieske FeS protein of the Cytochrome b6f complex increases C4 photosynthesis

bioRxiv, ISSN: 2692-8205
2019
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Article Description

C plants contribute 20% to the global primary productivity despite representing only 4% of higher plant species. Their CO concentrating mechanism operating between mesophyll and bundle sheath cells increases CO partial pressure at the site of Rubisco and hence photosynthetic efficiency. Electron transport chains in both cell types supply ATP and NADPH for C photosynthesis. Since Cytochrome bf is a key point of control of electron transport in C plants, we constitutively overexpressed the Rieske FeS subunit in Setaria viridis to study the effects on C photosynthesis. Rieske FeS overexpression resulted in a higher content of Cytochrome bf in both mesophyll and bundle sheath cells without marked changes in abundances of other photosynthetic complexes and Rubisco. Plants with higher Cytochrome bf abundance showed better light conversion efficiency in both Photosystems and could generate higher proton-motive force across the thylakoid membrane. Rieske FeS abundance correlated with CO assimilation rate and plants with a 10% increase in Rieske FeS content showed a 10% increase in CO assimilation rate at ambient and saturating CO and high light. Our results demonstrate that Cytochrome bf controls the rate of electron transport in C plants and that removing electron transport limitations can increase the rate of C photosynthesis.

Bibliographic Details

Maria Ermakova; Robert T. Furbank; Susanne von Caemmerer; Patricia E. Lopez-Calcagno; Christine A. Raines

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology; Agricultural and Biological Sciences; Immunology and Microbiology; Neuroscience; Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics

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