Journal article
C3 plants enhance rates of photosynthesis by reassimilating photorespired and respired CO2
Plant, cell and environment, Vol.36(1), pp.200-212
01/2013
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/100721
PMID: 22734462
Abstract
Photosynthetic carbon gain in plants using the C(3) photosynthetic pathway is substantially inhibited by photorespiration in warm environments, particularly in atmospheres with low CO(2) concentrations. Unlike C(4) plants, C(3) plants are thought to lack any mechanism to compensate for the loss of photosynthetic productivity caused by photorespiration. Here, for the first time, we demonstrate that the C(3) plants rice and wheat employ a specific mechanism to trap and reassimilate photorespired CO(2) . A continuous layer of chloroplasts covering the portion of the mesophyll cell periphery that is exposed to the intercellular air space creates a diffusion barrier for CO(2) exiting the cell. This facilitates the capture and reassimilation of photorespired CO(2) in the chloroplast stroma. In both species, 24-38% of photorespired and respired CO(2) were reassimilated within the cell, thereby boosting photosynthesis by 8-11% at ambient atmospheric CO(2) concentration and 17-33% at a CO(2) concentration of 200 µmol mol(-1) . Widespread use of this mechanism in tropical and subtropical C(3) plants could explain why the diversity of the world's C(3) flora, and dominance of terrestrial net primary productivity, was maintained during the Pleistocene, when atmospheric CO(2) concentrations fell below 200 µmol mol(-1) .
Metrics
17 Record Views
Details
- Title
- C3 plants enhance rates of photosynthesis by reassimilating photorespired and respired CO2
- Creators
- Florian A Busch - Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. florian.busch@anu.edu.auTammy L SageAsaph B CousinsRowan F Sage
- Publication Details
- Plant, cell and environment, Vol.36(1), pp.200-212
- Academic Unit
- Biological Sciences, School of
- Publisher
- United States
- Identifiers
- 99900546555001842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article