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2016, DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erw076

Manipulating photorespiration to increase plant productivity: recent advances and perspectives for crop improvement

Journal of Experimental Botany

Marco Betti, Hermann Bauwe, Florian A. Busch, Alisdair R. Fernie, Olivier Keech, Myles Levey, Donald R. Ort, Martin A. J. Parry, Rowan Sage, Stefan Timm, Berkley Walker, and Andreas P. M. Weber


Abstract

Recycling of the 2-phosphoglycolate generated by the oxygenase reaction of Rubisco requires a complex and energy-consuming set of reactions collectively known as the photorespiratory cycle. Several approaches aimed at reducing the rates of photorespiratory energy or carbon loss have been proposed, based either on screening for natural variation or by means of genetic engineering. Recent work indicates that plant yield can be substantially improved by the alteration of photorespiratory fluxes or by engineering artificial bypasses to photorespiration. However, there is also evidence indicating that, under certain environmental and/or nutritional conditions, reduced photorespiratory capacity may be detrimental to plant performance. Here we summarize recent advances obtained in photorespiratory engineering and discuss prospects for these advances to be transferred to major crops to help address the globally increasing demand for food and biomass production.

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The Ort Lab is supported by many public and private partnerships, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, the UK Government's Department for International Development, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy.

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