An unconventional Rubisco small subunit underpins the CO2-concentrating organelle in land plants - PubMed
5 days ago
- #Pyrenoids
- #Photosynthesis
- #Rubisco
- Algae use biophysical CO2-concentrating mechanisms to enhance photosynthesis by packing Rubisco into pyrenoids.
- Hornworts, the only land plants with pyrenoids, have an unusual Rubisco small subunit called RbcS-STAR.
- RbcS-STAR's C-terminal coiled-coil domain oligomerizes to mediate Rubisco condensation, acting as an innate linker.
- Expressing RbcS-STAR in species like Arabidopsis induces pyrenoid-like condensates, suggesting a potential method to introduce pyrenoids into crops.
- The findings could help engineer C3 crops with algal pyrenoids to increase yields.