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As CO2 concentrations continue to rise and discussions on global warming assume ever more warning tones, understanding of the CO2 cycle between the atmosphere and biosphere becomes ever more important. Most CO2 enters the biosphere through the actions of Rubisco, an enzyme found in all plants and many microorganisms. For many of these organisms, this entry into the biosphere via the C3 carbon reduction cycle is fraught with impediments associated with particular attributes of this enzyme. At one time, Rubisco, because of its poor performance, was not considered up to the task of being the primary agent for atmospheric CO2 fixation. Although its role in this capacity was for some years in serious doubt, we know now that this most abundant enzyme is in fact the primary agent. However, as its numerous idiosyncratic features have revealed themselves, it has become clearer just how tenuous this primary reaction really is. “It is demonstrable,” said [Pangloss], “that things cannot be otherwise than as they are; for as all things have been created for some end, they must necessarily be created for the best end. “… they, who assert that everything is right, do not express themselves correctly; they should say that everything is best.” (1) In this issue of PNAS, Tcherkez et al. (2) deal with perhaps the biggest impediment, namely the competition between partial reactions of the enzyme that lead either to CO2 fixation or to alternative products from a wasteful oxygenation reaction. In their analysis, they provide a kinetic and thermodynamic rationale for the limitations of the reaction and indicate how most, if not all, Rubisco species studied to date conform to this rationale. These observations are of practical importance because a voluminous literature suggests that increases in the selectivity of Rubisco toward carboxylation …

A unified theory for the basis of the limitations of the primary reaction of photosynthetic CO 2 fixation: Was Dr. Pangloss right?

A unified theory for the basis of the limitations of the primary reaction of photosynthetic CO ₂ fixation: Was Dr. Pangloss right?