Premium
Glycine decarboxylase controls photosynthesis and plant growth
Author(s) -
Timm Stefan,
Florian Alexandra,
Arrivault Stephanie,
Stitt Mark,
Fernie Alisdair R.,
Bauwe Hermann
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/j.febslet.2012.08.027
Subject(s) - photorespiration , photosynthesis , glycine , carbon fixation , rubisco , glycine cleavage system , biochemistry , biology , chemistry , botany , amino acid
Photorespiration makes oxygenic photosynthesis possible by scavenging 2‐phosphoglycolate. Hence, compromising photorespiration impairs photosynthesis. We examined whether facilitating photorespiratory carbon flow in turn accelerates photosynthesis and found that overexpression of the H‐protein of glycine decarboxylase indeed considerably enhanced net‐photosynthesis and growth of Arabidopsis thaliana . At the molecular level, lower glycine levels confirmed elevated GDC activity in vivo, and lower levels of the CO 2 acceptor ribulose 1,5‐bisphosphate indicated higher drain from CO 2 fixation. Thus, the photorespiratory enzyme glycine decarboxylase appears as an important feed‐back signaller that contributes to the control of the Calvin–Benson cycle and hence carbon flow through both photosynthesis and photorespiration.