This study aims to elucidate the molecular mechanism of an alternative electron flow (AEF) functioning under suppressed (CO2-limited) photosynthesis in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Photosynthetic linear electron flow, evaluated as the quantum yield of photosystem II [Y(II)], reaches a maximum shortly after the onset of actinic illumination. Thereafter, Y(II) transiently decrea...

To meet future food and energy security needs, which are amplified by increasing population growth and reduced natural resource availability, metabolic engineering efforts have moved from manipulating single genes/proteins to introducing multiple genes and novel pathways to improve photosynthetic efficiency in a more comprehensive manner. Biochemical carbon-concentrating mechanisms such as cras...

The effect of gibberellins (GA) on internode transcriptome was investigated in transgenic Carrizo citrange (Citrus sinensis x Poncirus trifoliata) plants overexpressing endogenous CcGA20ox1 (encoding a GA biosynthetic gene), and in non-transformed explants treated with GA(3), using a citrus cDNA microarray. Substantial modulation of gene expression was found in sense CcGA20ox plants. Extensive ...

The importance of gene duplication for evolutionary diversification has been mainly discussed in terms of genetic redundancy allowing neofunctionalization. In the case of C4 photosynthesis, which evolved via the co-option of multiple enzymes to boost carbon fixation in tropical conditions, the importance of genetic redundancy has not been consistently supported by genomic studies. Here, we test...

Photosynthesis, biological nitrogen fixation, and carbon dioxide assimilation are three fundamental biological processes catalyzed by photosynthetic bacteria. In the present study, it is shown that mutant strains of the nonsulfur purple photosynthetic bacteria Rhodospirillum rubrum and Rhodobacter sphaeroides, containing a blockage in the primary CO2 assimilatory pathway, derepress the synthesi...

Solar energy harvesting is largely limited by the spectral sensitivity of the employed energy conversion system, where usually large parts of the solar spectrum do not contribute to the harvesting scheme, and where, of the contributing fraction, the full potential of each photon is not efficiently used in the generation of electrical or chemical energy. Extrinsic sensitization through photolumi...

Plant productivity relies on photosynthesis, and the photosynthetic process relies on phosphorus (P). The genetic basis of photosynthesis and P efficiency (PE) affecting yield has been separately characterized in various crop plants. However, the genetic relationship between PE and photosynthesis remains to be elucidated. In this study, we used a combined analysis of phenotypic correlation, lin...