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C 2 photosynthesis: a promising route towards crop improvement?
Author(s) -
Lundgren Marjorie R.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/nph.16494
Subject(s) - photorespiration , photosynthesis , carbon assimilation , assimilation (phonology) , c4 photosynthesis , environmental science , computer science , biochemical engineering , botany , biology , engineering , linguistics , philosophy
Summary C 2 photosynthesis is a carbon concentrating mechanism that can increase net CO 2 assimilation by capturing, concentrating and re‐assimilating CO 2 released by photorespiration. Empirical and modelling studies indicate that C 2 plants assimilate more carbon than C 3 plants under high temperature, bright light, and low CO 2 conditions. I argue that engineering C 2 photosynthesis into C 3 crops is a promising approach to improve photosynthetic performance under these – and temporally heterogeneous – environments, and review the modifications that may re‐create a C 2 phenotype in C 3 plants. Although a C 2 engineering program would encounter many of the same challenges faced by C 4 engineering programmes, the simpler leaf anatomical requirements make C 2 engineering a feasible approach to improve crops in the medium term.