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Leung A, Patel R, Chirachon V, Stata M, Macfarlane TD, Ludwig M, Busch FA, Sage TL, Sage RF. Tribulus (Zygophyllaceae) as a case study for the evolution of C 2 and C 4 photosynthesis. PLANT, CELL & ENVIRONMENT 2024; 47:3541-3560. [PMID: 39132738 DOI: 10.1111/pce.15069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2024] [Revised: 07/19/2024] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 08/13/2024]
Abstract
C2 photosynthesis is a photosynthetic pathway in which photorespiratory CO2 release and refixation are enhanced in leaf bundle sheath (BS) tissues. The evolution of C2 photosynthesis has been hypothesized to be a major step in the origin of C4 photosynthesis, highlighting the importance of studying C2 evolution. In this study, physiological, anatomical, ultrastructural, and immunohistochemical properties of leaf photosynthetic tissues were investigated in six non-C4 Tribulus species and four C4 Tribulus species. At 42°C, T. cristatus exhibited a photosynthetic CO2 compensation point in the absence of respiration (C*) of 21 µmol mol-1, below the C3 mean C* of 73 µmol mol-1. Tribulus astrocarpus had a C* value at 42°C of 55 µmol mol-1, intermediate between the C3 species and the C2 T. cristatus. Glycine decarboxylase (GDC) allocation to BS tissues was associated with lower C*. Tribulus cristatus and T. astrocarpus allocated 86% and 30% of their GDC to the BS tissues, respectively, well above the C3 mean of 11%. Tribulus astrocarpus thus exhibits a weaker C2 (termed sub-C2) phenotype. Increased allocation of mitochondria to the BS and decreased length-to-width ratios of BS cells, were present in non-C4 species, indicating a potential role in C2 and C4 evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arthur Leung
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ria Patel
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Varosak Chirachon
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Matt Stata
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Plant Biology, and Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences, Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Terry D Macfarlane
- School of Molecular Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
- Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Western Australian Herbarium, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Martha Ludwig
- School of Molecular Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Florian A Busch
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- School of Biosciences and Birmingham Institute of Forest Research, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK
| | - Tammy L Sage
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Rowan F Sage
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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2
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Plackett ARG, Hibberd JM. Rice bundle sheath cell shape is regulated by the timing of light exposure during leaf development. PLANT, CELL & ENVIRONMENT 2024; 47:2597-2613. [PMID: 38549236 DOI: 10.1111/pce.14902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Revised: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 03/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024]
Abstract
Plant leaves contain multiple cell types which achieve distinct characteristics whilst still coordinating development within the leaf. The bundle sheath possesses larger individual cells and lower chloroplast content than the adjacent mesophyll, but how this morphology is achieved remains unknown. To identify regulatory mechanisms determining bundle sheath cell morphology we tested the effects of perturbing environmental (light) and endogenous signals (hormones) during leaf development of Oryza sativa (rice). Total chloroplast area in bundle sheath cells was found to increase with cell size as in the mesophyll but did not maintain a 'set-point' relationship, with the longest bundle sheath cells demonstrating the lowest chloroplast content. Application of exogenous cytokinin and gibberellin significantly altered the relationship between cell size and chloroplast biosynthesis in the bundle sheath, increasing chloroplast content of the longest cells. Delayed exposure to light reduced the mean length of bundle sheath cells but increased corresponding leaf length, whereas premature light reduced final leaf length but did not affect bundle sheath cells. This suggests that the plant hormones cytokinin and gibberellin are regulators of the bundle sheath cell-chloroplast relationship and that final bundle sheath length may potentially be affected by light-mediated control of exit from the cell cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Julian M Hibberd
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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3
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Edwards EJ. Reconciling continuous and discrete models of C4 and CAM evolution. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2023; 132:717-725. [PMID: 37675944 PMCID: PMC10799980 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcad125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2023] [Revised: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A current argument in the CAM biology literature has focused on the nature of the CAM evolutionary trajectory: whether there is a smooth continuum of phenotypes between plants with C3 and CAM photosynthesis or whether there are discrete steps of phenotypic evolutionary change such as has been modelled for the evolution of C4 photosynthesis. A further implication is that a smooth continuum would increase the evolvability of CAM, whereas discrete changes would make the evolutionary transition from C3 to CAM more difficult. SCOPE In this essay, I attempt to reconcile these two viewpoints, because I think in many ways this is a false dichotomy that is constraining progress in understanding how both CAM and C4 evolved. In reality, the phenotypic space connecting C3 species and strong CAM/C4 species is both a continuum of variably expressed quantitative traits and yet also contains certain combinations of traits that we are able to identify as discrete, recognizable phenotypes. In this sense, the evolutionary mechanics of CAM origination are no different from those of C4 photosynthesis, nor from the evolution of any other complex trait assemblage. CONCLUSIONS To make progress, we must embrace the concept of discrete phenotypic phases of CAM evolution, because their delineation will force us to articulate what aspects of phenotypic variation we think are significant. There are some current phenotypic gaps that are limiting our ability to build a complete CAM evolutionary model: the first is how a rudimentary CAM biochemical cycle becomes established, and the second is how the 'accessory' CAM cycle in C3+CAM plants is recruited into a primary metabolism. The connections to the C3 phenotype we are looking for are potentially found in the behaviour of C3 plants when undergoing physiological stress - behaviour that, strangely enough, remains essentially unexplored in this context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika J Edwards
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, 165 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
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4
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Schlüter U, Bouvier JW, Guerreiro R, Malisic M, Kontny C, Westhoff P, Stich B, Weber APM. Brassicaceae display variation in efficiency of photorespiratory carbon-recapturing mechanisms. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2023; 74:6631-6649. [PMID: 37392176 PMCID: PMC10662225 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erad250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2023] [Indexed: 07/03/2023]
Abstract
Carbon-concentrating mechanisms enhance the carboxylase efficiency of Rubisco by providing supra-atmospheric concentrations of CO2 in its surroundings. Beside the C4 photosynthesis pathway, carbon concentration can also be achieved by the photorespiratory glycine shuttle which requires fewer and less complex modifications. Plants displaying CO2 compensation points between 10 ppm and 40 ppm are often considered to utilize such a photorespiratory shuttle and are termed 'C3-C4 intermediates'. In the present study, we perform a physiological, biochemical, and anatomical survey of a large number of Brassicaceae species to better understand the C3-C4 intermediate phenotype, including its basic components and its plasticity. Our phylogenetic analysis suggested that C3-C4 metabolism evolved up to five times independently in the Brassicaceae. The efficiency of the pathway showed considerable variation. Centripetal accumulation of organelles in the bundle sheath was consistently observed in all C3-C4-classified taxa, indicating a crucial role for anatomical features in CO2-concentrating pathways. Leaf metabolite patterns were strongly influenced by the individual species, but accumulation of photorespiratory shuttle metabolites glycine and serine was generally observed. Analysis of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activities suggested that C4-like shuttles have not evolved in the investigated Brassicaceae. Convergent evolution of the photorespiratory shuttle indicates that it represents a distinct photosynthesis type that is beneficial in some environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Urte Schlüter
- Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Cluster of Excellence for Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstr. 1, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Jacques W Bouvier
- Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Cluster of Excellence for Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstr. 1, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Ricardo Guerreiro
- Institute for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics of Plants, Cluster of Excellence for Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstr. 1, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Milena Malisic
- Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Cluster of Excellence for Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstr. 1, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Carina Kontny
- Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Cluster of Excellence for Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstr. 1, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Philipp Westhoff
- Metabolomics and Metabolism Laboratory, Cluster of Excellence for Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstr. 1, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Benjamin Stich
- Institute for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics of Plants, Cluster of Excellence for Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstr. 1, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Andreas P M Weber
- Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Cluster of Excellence for Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstr. 1, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
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5
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Guerreiro R, Bonthala VS, Schlüter U, Hoang NV, Triesch S, Schranz ME, Weber APM, Stich B. A genomic panel for studying C3-C4 intermediate photosynthesis in the Brassiceae tribe. PLANT, CELL & ENVIRONMENT 2023; 46:3611-3627. [PMID: 37431820 DOI: 10.1111/pce.14662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/12/2023]
Abstract
Research on C4 and C3-C4 photosynthesis has attracted significant attention because the understanding of the genetic underpinnings of these traits will support the introduction of its characteristics into commercially relevant crop species. We used a panel of 19 taxa of 18 Brassiceae species with different photosynthesis characteristics (C3 and C3-C4) with the following objectives: (i) create draft genome assemblies and annotations, (ii) quantify orthology levels using synteny maps between all pairs of taxa, (iii) describe the phylogenetic relatedness across all the species, and (iv) track the evolution of C3-C4 intermediate photosynthesis in the Brassiceae tribe. Our results indicate that the draft de novo genome assemblies are of high quality and cover at least 90% of the gene space. Therewith we more than doubled the sampling depth of genomes of the Brassiceae tribe that comprises commercially important as well as biologically interesting species. The gene annotation generated high-quality gene models, and for most genes extensive upstream sequences are available for all taxa, yielding potential to explore variants in regulatory sequences. The genome-based phylogenetic tree of the Brassiceae contained two main clades and indicated that the C3-C4 intermediate photosynthesis has evolved five times independently. Furthermore, our study provides the first genomic support of the hypothesis that Diplotaxis muralis is a natural hybrid of D. tenuifolia and D. viminea. Altogether, the de novo genome assemblies and the annotations reported in this study are a valuable resource for research on the evolution of C3-C4 intermediate photosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo Guerreiro
- Institute of Quantitative Genetics and Genomics of Plants, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Venkata Suresh Bonthala
- Institute of Quantitative Genetics and Genomics of Plants, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Urte Schlüter
- Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Nam V Hoang
- Biosystematics Group, Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Sebastian Triesch
- Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - M Eric Schranz
- Biosystematics Group, Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Andreas P M Weber
- Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Benjamin Stich
- Institute of Quantitative Genetics and Genomics of Plants, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Düsseldorf, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Köln, Germany
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6
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Adachi S, Stata M, Martin DG, Cheng S, Liu H, Zhu XG, Sage RF. The Evolution of C4 Photosynthesis in Flaveria (Asteraceae): Insights from the Flaveria linearis Complex. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2023; 191:233-251. [PMID: 36200882 PMCID: PMC9806627 DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiac467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Flaveria is a leading model for C4 plant evolution due to the presence of a dozen C3-C4 intermediate species, many of which are associated with a phylogenetic complex centered around Flaveria linearis. To investigate C4 evolution in Flaveria, we updated the Flaveria phylogeny and evaluated gas exchange, starch δ13C, and activity of C4 cycle enzymes in 19 Flaveria species and 28 populations within the F. linearis complex. A principal component analysis identified six functional clusters: (1) C3, (2) sub-C2, (3) full C2, (4) enriched C2, (5) sub-C4, and (6) fully C4 species. The sub-C2 species lacked a functional C4 cycle, while a gradient was present in the C2 clusters from little to modest C4 cycle activity as indicated by δ13C and enzyme activities. Three Yucatan populations of F. linearis had photosynthetic CO2 compensation points equivalent to C4 plants but showed little evidence for an enhanced C4 cycle, indicating they have an optimized C2 pathway that recaptures all photorespired CO2 in the bundle sheath (BS) tissue. All C2 species had enhanced aspartate aminotransferase activity relative to C3 species and most had enhanced alanine aminotransferase activity. These aminotransferases form aspartate and alanine from glutamate and in doing so could help return photorespiratory nitrogen (N) from BS to mesophyll cells, preventing glutamate feedback onto photorespiratory N assimilation. Their use requires upregulation of parts of the C4 metabolic cycle to generate carbon skeletons to sustain N return to the mesophyll, and thus could facilitate the evolution of the full C4 photosynthetic pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shunsuke Adachi
- Graduate School of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan
| | - Matt Stata
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, The University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S3B2, Canada
| | - Duncan G Martin
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Shifeng Cheng
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518120, China
| | - Hongbing Liu
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518120, China
| | - Xin-Guang Zhu
- Center of Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute for Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032 China
| | - Rowan F Sage
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, The University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S3B2, Canada
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7
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Fan Y, Scafaro AP, Asao S, Furbank RT, Agostino A, Day DA, von Caemmerer S, Danila FR, Rug M, Webb D, Lee J, Atkin OK. Dark respiration rates are not determined by differences in mitochondrial capacity, abundance and ultrastructure in C 4 leaves. PLANT, CELL & ENVIRONMENT 2022; 45:1257-1269. [PMID: 35048399 DOI: 10.1111/pce.14267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Our understanding of the regulation of respiration in C4 plants, where mitochondria play different roles in the different types of C4 photosynthetic pathway, remains limited. We examined how leaf dark respiration rates (Rdark ), in the presence and absence of added malate, vary in monocots representing the three classical biochemical types of C4 photosynthesis (NADP-ME, NAD-ME and PCK) using intact leaves and extracted bundle sheath strands. In particular, we explored to what extent rates of Rdark are associated with mitochondrial number, volume and ultrastructure. Based on examination of a single species per C4 type, we found that the respiratory response of NAD-ME and PCK type bundle sheath strands to added malate was associated with differences in mitochondrial number, volume, and/or ultrastructure, while NADP-ME type bundle sheath strands did not respond to malate addition. In general, mitochondrial traits reflected the contributions mitochondria make to photosynthesis in the three C4 types. However, despite the obvious differences in mitochondrial traits, no clear correlation was observed between these traits and Rdark . We suggest that Rdark is primarily driven by cellular maintenance demands and not mitochondrial composition per se, in a manner that is somewhat independent of mitochondrial organic acid cycling in the light.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuzhen Fan
- Research School of Biology, ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
- Research School of Biology, Division of Plant Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Andrew P Scafaro
- Research School of Biology, ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
- Research School of Biology, Division of Plant Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Shinichi Asao
- Research School of Biology, Division of Plant Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Robert T Furbank
- Research School of Biology, Division of Plant Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
- Research School of Biology, ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Antony Agostino
- Research School of Biology, Division of Plant Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - David A Day
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Susanne von Caemmerer
- Research School of Biology, Division of Plant Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
- Research School of Biology, ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Florence R Danila
- Research School of Biology, Division of Plant Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
- Research School of Biology, ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Melanie Rug
- Centre for Advanced Microscopy, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Daryl Webb
- Centre for Advanced Microscopy, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Jiwon Lee
- Centre for Advanced Microscopy, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Owen K Atkin
- Research School of Biology, ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
- Research School of Biology, Division of Plant Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
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8
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Borghi GL, Arrivault S, Günther M, Barbosa Medeiros D, Dell’Aversana E, Fusco GM, Carillo P, Ludwig M, Fernie AR, Lunn JE, Stitt M. Metabolic profiles in C3, C3-C4 intermediate, C4-like, and C4 species in the genus Flaveria. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2022; 73:1581-1601. [PMID: 34910813 PMCID: PMC8890617 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erab540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
C4 photosynthesis concentrates CO2 around Rubisco in the bundle sheath, favouring carboxylation over oxygenation and decreasing photorespiration. This complex trait evolved independently in >60 angiosperm lineages. Its evolution can be investigated in genera such as Flaveria (Asteraceae) that contain species representing intermediate stages between C3 and C4 photosynthesis. Previous studies have indicated that the first major change in metabolism probably involved relocation of glycine decarboxylase and photorespiratory CO2 release to the bundle sheath and establishment of intercellular shuttles to maintain nitrogen stoichiometry. This was followed by selection for a CO2-concentrating cycle between phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase in the mesophyll and decarboxylases in the bundle sheath, and relocation of Rubisco to the latter. We have profiled 52 metabolites in nine Flaveria species and analysed 13CO2 labelling patterns for four species. Our results point to operation of multiple shuttles, including movement of aspartate in C3-C4 intermediates and a switch towards a malate/pyruvate shuttle in C4-like species. The malate/pyruvate shuttle increases from C4-like to complete C4 species, accompanied by a rise in ancillary organic acid pools. Our findings support current models and uncover further modifications of metabolism along the evolutionary path to C4 photosynthesis in the genus Flaveria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gian Luca Borghi
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, D-14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - Stéphanie Arrivault
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, D-14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
- Correspondence:
| | - Manuela Günther
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, D-14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - David Barbosa Medeiros
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, D-14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - Emilia Dell’Aversana
- Universitá degli Studi della Campania, Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali, Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
| | - Giovanna Marta Fusco
- Universitá degli Studi della Campania, Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali, Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
| | - Petronia Carillo
- Universitá degli Studi della Campania, Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali, Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
| | - Martha Ludwig
- The University of Western Australia, School of Molecular Sciences, 35 Stirling Highway, 6009 Perth, Australia
| | - Alisdair R Fernie
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, D-14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - John E Lunn
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, D-14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - Mark Stitt
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, D-14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
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9
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Fan Y, Asao S, Furbank RT, von Caemmerer S, Day DA, Tcherkez G, Sage TL, Sage RF, Atkin OK. The crucial roles of mitochondria in supporting C 4 photosynthesis. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2022; 233:1083-1096. [PMID: 34669188 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
C4 photosynthesis involves a series of biochemical and anatomical traits that significantly improve plant productivity under conditions that reduce the efficiency of C3 photosynthesis. We explore how evolution of the three classical biochemical types of C4 photosynthesis (NADP-ME, NAD-ME and PCK types) has affected the functions and properties of mitochondria. Mitochondria in C4 NAD-ME and PCK types play a direct role in decarboxylation of metabolites for C4 photosynthesis. Mitochondria in C4 PCK type also provide ATP for C4 metabolism, although this role for ATP provision is not seen in NAD-ME type. Such involvement has increased mitochondrial abundance/size and associated enzymatic capacity, led to changes in mitochondrial location and ultrastructure, and altered the role of mitochondria in cellular carbon metabolism in the NAD-ME and PCK types. By contrast, these changes in mitochondrial properties are absent in the C4 NADP-ME type and C3 leaves, where mitochondria play no direct role in photosynthesis. From an eco-physiological perspective, rates of leaf respiration in darkness vary considerably among C4 species but does not differ systematically among the three C4 types. This review outlines further mitochondrial research in key areas central to the engineering of the C4 pathway into C3 plants and to the understanding of variation in rates of C4 dark respiration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuzhen Fan
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
- Division of Plant Sciences, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Shinichi Asao
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Robert T Furbank
- Division of Plant Sciences, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Susanne von Caemmerer
- Division of Plant Sciences, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - David A Day
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA, 5001, Australia
| | - Guillaume Tcherkez
- Division of Plant Sciences, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
- Institut de Recherche en Horticulture et Semences, INRA and University of Angers, Beaucouzé, 49070, France
| | - Tammy L Sage
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - Rowan F Sage
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - Owen K Atkin
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
- Division of Plant Sciences, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
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10
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Oono J, Hatakeyama Y, Yabiku T, Ueno O. Effects of growth temperature and nitrogen nutrition on expression of C 3-C 4 intermediate traits in Chenopodium album. JOURNAL OF PLANT RESEARCH 2022; 135:15-27. [PMID: 34519912 DOI: 10.1007/s10265-021-01346-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Proto-Kranz plants represent an initial phase in the evolution from C3 to C3-C4 intermediate to C4 plants. The ecological and adaptive aspects of C3-C4 plants would provide an important clue to understand the evolution of C3-C4 plants. We investigated whether growth temperature and nitrogen (N) nutrition influence the expression of C3-C4 traits in Chenopodium album (proto-Kranz) in comparison with Chenopodium quinoa (C3). Plants were grown during 5 weeks at 20 or 30 °C under standard or low N supply levels (referred to as 20SN, 20LN, 30SN, and 30LN). Net photosynthetic rate and leaf N content were higher in 20SN and 30SN plants than in 20LN and 30LN plants of C. album but did not differ among growth conditions in C. quinoa. The CO2 compensation point (Γ) of C. album was lowest in 30LN plants (36 µmol mol-1), highest in 20SN plants (51 µmol mol-1), and intermediate in 20LN and 30SN plants, whereas Γ of C. quinoa did not differ among the growth conditions (51-52 µmol mol-1). The anatomical structure of leaves was not considerably affected by growth conditions in either species. However, ultrastructural observations in C. album showed that the number of mitochondria per mesophyll or bundle sheath (BS) cell was lower in 20LN and 30LN plants than in 20SN and 30SN plants. Immunohistochemical observations revealed that lower accumulation level of P-protein of glycine decarboxylase (GDC-P) in mesophyll mitochondria than in BS mitochondria is the major factor causing the decrease in Γ values in C. album plants grown under low N supply and high temperature. These results suggest that high growth temperature and low N supply lead to the expression of C3-C4 traits (the reduction of Γ) in the proto-Kranz plants of C. album through the regulation of GDC-P expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jemin Oono
- Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan
| | - Yuto Hatakeyama
- Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan
| | - Takayuki Yabiku
- Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan
| | - Osamu Ueno
- Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan.
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Lyu MJA, Gowik U, Kelly S, Covshoff S, Hibberd JM, Sage RF, Ludwig M, Wong GKS, Westhoff P, Zhu XG. The coordination of major events in C 4 photosynthesis evolution in the genus Flaveria. Sci Rep 2021; 11:15618. [PMID: 34341365 PMCID: PMC8329263 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93381-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
C4 photosynthesis is a remarkable complex trait, elucidations of the evolutionary trajectory of C4 photosynthesis from its ancestral C3 pathway can help us better understand the generic principles of the evolution of complex traits and guide the engineering of C3 crops for higher yields. Here, we used the genus Flaveria that contains C3, C3-C4, C4-like and C4 species as a system to study the evolution of C4 photosynthesis. We first mapped transcript abundance, protein sequence and morphological features onto the phylogenetic tree of the genus Flaveria, and calculated the evolutionary correlation of different features; we then predicted the relative changes of ancestral nodes of those features to illustrate the major events during the evolution of C4 photosynthesis. We found that gene expression and protein sequence showed consistent modification patterns in the phylogenetic tree. High correlation coefficients ranging from 0.46 to 0.9 among gene expression, protein sequence and morphology were observed. The greatest modification of those different features consistently occurred at the transition between C3-C4 species and C4-like species. Our results show highly coordinated changes in gene expression, protein sequence and morphological features, which support evolutionary major events during the evolution of C4 metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming-Ju Amy Lyu
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Udo Gowik
- Institute of Plant Molecular and Developmental Biology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Dusseldorf, Germany
| | - Steve Kelly
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Sarah Covshoff
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Julian M Hibberd
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Rowan F Sage
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Martha Ludwig
- School of Molecular Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | - Gane Ka-Shu Wong
- BGI-Shenzhen, Beishan Industrial Zone, Yantian District, Shenzhen, 518083, China
- Department of Medicine and Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E1, Canada
| | - Peter Westhoff
- Institute of Plant Molecular and Developmental Biology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Dusseldorf, Germany
| | - Xin-Guang Zhu
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
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12
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Horiguchi G, Matsumoto K, Nemoto K, Inokuchi M, Hirotsu N. Transition From Proto-Kranz-Type Photosynthesis to HCO 3 - Use Photosynthesis in the Amphibious Plant Hygrophila polysperma. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:675507. [PMID: 34220895 PMCID: PMC8242947 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.675507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Hygrophila polysperma is a heterophyllous amphibious plant. The growth of H. polysperma in submerged conditions is challenging due to the low CO2 environment, increased resistance to gas diffusion, and bicarbonate ion (HCO3 -) being the dominant dissolved inorganic carbon source. The submerged leaves of H. polysperma have significantly higher rates of underwater photosynthesis compared with the terrestrial leaves. 4,4'-Diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'-disulfonate (DIDS), an anion exchanger protein inhibitor, and ethoxyzolamide (EZ), an inhibitor of internal carbonic anhydrase, repressed underwater photosynthesis by the submerged leaves. These results suggested that H. polysperma acclimates to the submerged condition by using HCO3 - for photosynthesis. H. polysperma transports HCO3 - into the leaf by a DIDS-sensitive HCO3 - transporter and converted to CO2 by carbonic anhydrase. Additionally, proteome analysis revealed that submerged leaves accumulated fewer proteins associated with C4 photosynthesis compared with terrestrial leaves. This finding suggested that H. polysperma is capable of C4 and C3 photosynthesis in the terrestrial and submerged leaves, respectively. The ratio of phosphoenol pyruvate carboxylase to ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) in the submerged leaves was less than that in the terrestrial leaves. Upon anatomical observation, the terrestrial leaves exhibited a phenotype similar to the Kranz anatomy found among C4 plants; however, chloroplasts in the bundle sheath cells were not located adjacent to the vascular bundles, and the typical Kranz anatomy was absent in submerged leaves. These results suggest that H. polysperma performs proto-Kranz type photosynthesis in a terrestrial environment and shifts from a proto-Kranz type in terrestrial leaves to a HCO3 - use photosynthesis in the submerged environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Genki Horiguchi
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Toyo University, Gunma, Japan
| | | | - Kyosuke Nemoto
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Toyo University, Gunma, Japan
| | - Mayu Inokuchi
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Toyo University, Gunma, Japan
- Department of Aquatic Bioscience, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Naoki Hirotsu
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Toyo University, Gunma, Japan
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Toyo University, Gunma, Japan
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Formation of Proto-Kranz in C3 Rice Induced by Spike-Stalk Injection Method. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22094305. [PMID: 33919137 PMCID: PMC8122280 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22094305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2021] [Revised: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction of C4 photosynthetic traits into C3 crops is an important strategy for improving photosynthetic capacity and productivity. Here, we report the research results of a variant line of sorghum-rice (SR) plant with big panicle and high spikelet density by introducing sorghum genome DNA into rice by spike-stalk injection. The whole-genome resequencing showed that a few sorghum genes could be integrated into the rice genome. Gene expression was confirmed for two C4 photosynthetic enzymes containing pyruvate, orthophosphate dikinase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase. Exogenous sorghum DNA integration induced a series of key traits associated with the C4 pathway called "proto-Kranz" anatomy, including leaf thickness, bundle sheath number and size, and chloroplast size in bundle sheath cells. Significantly, transgenic plants exhibited enhanced photosynthetic capacity resulting from both photosynthetic CO2-concentrating effect and improved energy balance, which led to an increase in carbohydrate levels and productivity. Furthermore, such rice plant exhibited delayed leaf senescence. In summary, this study provides a proof for the feasibility of inducing the transition from C3 leaf anatomy to proto-Kranz by spike-stalk injection to achieve efficient photosynthesis and increase productivity.
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Russ Monson and the evolution of C 4 photosynthesis. Oecologia 2021; 197:823-840. [PMID: 33661402 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-04883-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2020] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Early in his career, Russ Monson produced a series of influential eco-physiological papers that helped lay the foundation for the study of C4 plant evolution. Among the most important was a 1984 paper with Maurice Ku and Gerry Edwards that outlined the pathway for the evolutionary bridge from C3 to C4 photosynthesis. This model proposed C4 photosynthesis arose out of a shuttle that imported photorespiratory metabolites into bundle sheath (BS) cells, where glycine decarboxylase cleaved off CO2, allowing it to accumulate and be efficiently refixed by BS Rubisco. By the mid-1990's, Monson's research focus had shifted away from C4 plants, save for one 2003 paper on C3 versus C4 stomatal control with Travis Huxman, and a series of critical reviews on C4 evolution. These reviews heavily influenced the modern synthesis of C4 evolutionary studies, which incorporates phylogenomic understanding with physiological, molecular, and structural characterizations of trait shifts in multiple evolutionary lineages. Subsequent research supported the Monson et al. model from 1984, by showing a glycine shuttle occurs in nearly all C3-C4 intermediate species identified. Monson also examined the physiological controls over the ecological distribution of C3, C3-C4 intermediate, and C4 photosynthesis, building our understanding of the fitness value of the intermediate and C4 pathway in relevant microenvironments. By establishing the foundation for discoveries that followed, Russ Monson can rightly be considered a leading pioneer contributing to the evolutionary biology of C4 photosynthesis.
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Mendonça AMDC, Viana PL, Barbosa JPRAD. LEAF ANATOMY CHARACTERIZATION OF FOUR Apochloa SPECIES: A C3 GENUS RELATED TO EVOLUTION OF C4 PATHWAY IN GRASSES. ACTA BIOLÓGICA COLOMBIANA 2020. [DOI: 10.15446/abc.v26n1.83228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Leaf anatomy characteristics provide important evidences about the transition between C3 and C4 pathways. The C4 photosynthesis pathway allowed to reduce the C3 photorespiratory rate, concentrating CO2 around the Rubisco site and using structures and machinery already presented in C3 plants. In monocots, it is observed a high number of C4 lineages, most of them phylogenetically related to C3 groups. The genus Apochloa (C3), subtribe Arthropogoninae, is related to two C4 genera Coleataenia and Cyphonanthus. The aim of this study was to evaluate four Apochloa species in order to establish anatomical characteristics related to the evolution of C4 pathway in this group. By means of transverse sections fully expanded leaves of A. euprepes, A. lorea, A. molinioides, and A. poliophylla were collected and the characteristics of the mesophyll (M) and bundle sheath (BS) cells were determined. These species showed a rustic Kranz anatomy with enlarged and radial arranged BS cells, which have few organelles organized in a centrifugal position. Although the modifications of BS cells are probably related to the maintenance of plant water status, we also discuss the evolution for the establishment of C4 photosynthesis in the related C4 genera.
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Abstract
C4 photosynthesis evolved multiple times independently from ancestral C3 photosynthesis in a broad range of flowering land plant families and in both monocots and dicots. The evolution of C4 photosynthesis entails the recruitment of enzyme activities that are not involved in photosynthetic carbon fixation in C3 plants to photosynthesis. This requires a different regulation of gene expression as well as a different regulation of enzyme activities in comparison to the C3 context. Further, C4 photosynthesis relies on a distinct leaf anatomy that differs from that of C3, requiring a differential regulation of leaf development in C4. We summarize recent progress in the understanding of C4-specific features in evolution and metabolic regulation in the context of C4 photosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Urte Schlüter
- Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Heinrich Heine University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; ,
| | - Andreas P M Weber
- Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Heinrich Heine University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; ,
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17
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Yorimitsu Y, Kadosono A, Hatakeyama Y, Yabiku T, Ueno O. Transition from C 3 to proto-Kranz to C 3-C 4 intermediate type in the genus Chenopodium (Chenopodiaceae). JOURNAL OF PLANT RESEARCH 2019; 132:839-855. [PMID: 31473860 PMCID: PMC7205854 DOI: 10.1007/s10265-019-01135-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2019] [Accepted: 08/26/2019] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The Chenopodiaceae is one of the families including C4 species among eudicots. In this family, the genus Chenopodium is considered to include only C3 species. However, we report here a transition from C3 photosynthesis to proto-Kranz to C3-C4 intermediate type in Chenopodium. We investigated leaf anatomical and photosynthetic traits of 15 species, of which 8 species showed non-Kranz anatomy and a CO2 compensation point (Γ) typical of C3 plants. However, 5 species showed proto-Kranz anatomy and a C3-like Γ, whereas C. strictum showed leaf anatomy and a Γ typical of C3-C4 intermediates. Chenopodium album accessions examined included both proto-Kranz and C3-C4 intermediate types, depending on locality. Glycine decarboxylase, a key photorespiratory enzyme that is involved in the decarboxylation of glycine, was located predominantly in the mesophyll (M) cells of C3 species, in both M and bundle-sheath (BS) cells in proto-Kranz species, and exclusively in BS cells in C3-C4 intermediate species. The M/BS tissue area ratio, number of chloroplasts and mitochondria per BS cell, distribution of these organelles to the centripetal region of BS cells, the degree of inner positioning (vacuolar side of chloroplasts) of mitochondria in M cells, and the size of BS mitochondria also changed with the change in glycine decarboxylase localization. All Chenopodium species examined were C3-like regarding activities and amounts of C3 and C4 photosynthetic enzymes and δ13C values, suggesting that these species perform photosynthesis without contribution of the C4 cycle. This study demonstrates that Chenopodium is not a C3 genus and is valuable for studying evolution of C3-C4 intermediates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuki Yorimitsu
- Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan
| | - Aya Kadosono
- School of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan
| | - Yuto Hatakeyama
- Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan
| | - Takayuki Yabiku
- Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan
| | - Osamu Ueno
- Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan.
- School of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan.
- Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan.
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Dehigaspitiya P, Milham P, Ash GJ, Arun-Chinnappa K, Gamage D, Martin A, Nagasaka S, Seneweera S. Exploring natural variation of photosynthesis in a site-specific manner: evolution, progress, and prospects. PLANTA 2019; 250:1033-1050. [PMID: 31254100 DOI: 10.1007/s00425-019-03223-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2019] [Accepted: 06/20/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Site-specific changes of photosynthesis, a relatively new concept, can be used to improve the productivity of critical food crops to mitigate the foreseen food crisis. Global food security is threatened by an increasing population and the effects of climate change. Large yield improvements were achieved in major cereal crops between the 1950s and 1980s through the Green Revolution. However, we are currently experiencing a significant decline in yield progress. Of the many approaches to improved cereal yields, exploitation of the mode of photosynthesis has been intensely studied. Even though the C4 pathway is considered the most efficient, mainly because of the carbon concentrating mechanisms around the enzyme ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase, which minimize photorespiration, much is still unknown about the specific gene regulation of this mode of photosynthesis. Most of the critical cereal crops, including wheat and rice, are categorized as C3 plants based on the photosynthesis of major photosynthetic organs. However, recent findings raise the possibility of different modes of photosynthesis occurring at different sites in the same plant and/or in plants grown in different habitats. That is, it seems possible that efficient photosynthetic traits may be expressed in specific organs, even though the major photosynthetic pathway is C3. Knowledge of site-specific differences in photosynthesis, coupled with site-specific regulation of gene expression, may therefore hold a potential to enhance the yields of economically important C3 crops.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Paul Milham
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, LB 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2753, Australia
| | - Gavin J Ash
- Centre for Crop Health, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD, 4350, Australia
| | - Kiruba Arun-Chinnappa
- Centre for Crop Health, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD, 4350, Australia
| | - Dananjali Gamage
- Centre for Crop Health, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD, 4350, Australia
| | - Anke Martin
- Centre for Crop Health, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD, 4350, Australia
| | - Seiji Nagasaka
- Centre for Crop Health, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD, 4350, Australia
| | - Saman Seneweera
- Centre for Crop Health, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD, 4350, Australia.
- National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Hanthana Road, Kandy, 20000, Central, Sri Lanka.
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Stata M, Sage TL, Sage RF. Mind the gap: the evolutionary engagement of the C 4 metabolic cycle in support of net carbon assimilation. CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY 2019; 49:27-34. [PMID: 31150949 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2019.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2019] [Revised: 04/20/2019] [Accepted: 04/23/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
C4 photosynthesis evolved dozens of times, with a critical step being the engagement of a C4 metabolic cycle to concentrate CO2 into a bundle sheath-like compartment. While C3-C4 intermediate species show a progressive increase in the activity of a C4 metabolic cycle, the integration of the C4 and C3 biochemical cycles in enhancing photosynthetic carbon gain occurs in a punctuated manner, at an initial C4 cycle activity near 60%. Punctuated integration of the C4 cycle could result from the evolutionary acquisition of traits that coordinate the C3 and C4 biochemical cycles (for example, an enzymatic, regulatory or transport function) or from a sudden reduction in the mesophyll C3 cycle. Alternatively, a punctuated pattern could be an artifact of low numbers of C3-C4 intermediates in the evolutionary space where C4 cycle engagement occurs, due to incomplete sampling of natural diversity or evolutionary dynamics rendering such intermediates unstable. Understanding how the C4 cycle becomes integrated with the C3 cycle could reveal new avenues for engineering the C4 pathway into C3 plants. Such efforts would be facilitated by the generation of hybrids, or the discovery of additional intermediates, that span the transition from low to high C4 cycle engagement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matt Stata
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, M5S3B2, Canada
| | - Tammy L Sage
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, M5S3B2, Canada
| | - Rowan F Sage
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, M5S3B2, Canada.
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Sedelnikova OV, Hughes TE, Langdale JA. Understanding the Genetic Basis of C 4 Kranz Anatomy with a View to Engineering C 3 Crops. Annu Rev Genet 2018; 52:249-270. [PMID: 30208293 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-genet-120417-031217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
One of the most remarkable examples of convergent evolution is the transition from C3 to C4 photosynthesis, an event that occurred on over 60 independent occasions. The evolution of C4 is particularly noteworthy because of the complexity of the developmental and metabolic changes that took place. In most cases, compartmentalized metabolic reactions were facilitated by the development of a distinct leaf anatomy known as Kranz. C4 Kranz anatomy differs from ancestral C3 anatomy with respect to vein spacing patterns across the leaf, cell-type specification around veins, and cell-specific organelle function. Here we review our current understanding of how Kranz anatomy evolved and how it develops, with a focus on studies that are dissecting the underlying genetic mechanisms. This research field has gained prominence in recent years because understanding the genetic regulation of Kranz may enable the C3-to-C4 transition to be engineered, an endeavor that would significantly enhance crop productivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga V Sedelnikova
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RB, United Kingdom; , ,
| | - Thomas E Hughes
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RB, United Kingdom; , ,
| | - Jane A Langdale
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RB, United Kingdom; , ,
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21
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Some like it hot: the physiological ecology of C 4 plant evolution. Oecologia 2018; 187:941-966. [PMID: 29955992 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-018-4191-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2017] [Accepted: 06/05/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
The evolution of C4 photosynthesis requires an intermediate phase where photorespiratory glycine produced in the mesophyll cells must flow to the vascular sheath cells for metabolism by glycine decarboxylase. This glycine flux concentrates photorespired CO2 within the sheath cells, allowing it to be efficiently refixed by sheath Rubisco. A modest C4 biochemical cycle is then upregulated, possibly to support the refixation of photorespired ammonia in sheath cells, with subsequent increases in C4 metabolism providing incremental benefits until an optimized C4 pathway is established. 'Why' C4 photosynthesis evolved is largely explained by ancestral C3 species exploiting photorespiratory CO2 to improve carbon gain and thus enhance fitness. While photorespiration depresses C3 performance, it produces a resource (photorespired CO2) that can be exploited to build an evolutionary bridge to C4 photosynthesis. 'Where' C4 evolved is indicated by the habitat of species branching near C3-to-C4 transitions on phylogenetic trees. Consistent with the photorespiratory bridge hypothesis, transitional species show that the large majority of > 60 C4 lineages arose in hot, dry, and/or saline regions where photorespiratory potential is high. 'When' C4 evolved has been clarified by molecular clock analyses using phylogenetic data, coupled with isotopic signatures from fossils. Nearly all C4 lineages arose after 25 Ma when atmospheric CO2 levels had fallen to near current values. This reduction in CO2, coupled with persistent high temperature at low-to-mid-latitudes, met a precondition where photorespiration was elevated, thus facilitating the evolutionary selection pressure that led to C4 photosynthesis.
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Muhaidat R, McKown AD, Al Zoubi M, Bani Domi Z, Otoum O. C 4 photosynthesis and transition of Kranz anatomy in cotyledons and leaves of Tetraena simplex. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2018; 105:822-835. [PMID: 29791720 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2017] [Accepted: 02/22/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE OF THE STUDY Tetraena simplex is an independently evolved C4 species in the Zygophylloideae (Zygophyllaceae) and a characteristic forb of saline flats in hot and sandy desert habitats. During early ontogeny, the species had a morphological shift from planar cotyledons (dorsiventral symmetry) to terete, succulent leaves (radial symmetry). We tested whether this shift had a corresponding change in internal Kranz anatomy and tissue patterning. METHODS For a comprehensive characterization of C4 photosynthesis across early ontogeny in T. simplex, structural and ultrastructural anatomical properties and localization patterns, activities, and immunoblotting of key C4 photosynthetic enzymes were compared in mesophyll and bundle sheath tissues in cotyledons and leaves. KEY RESULTS Cotyledons and leaves possessed different types of Kranz anatomy (atriplicoid type and a "Tetraena" variant of the kochioid type, respectively), reflecting the change in leaf morphology. In bundle sheath cells, key differences in ultrastructural features included increased organelle numbers and chloroplast thylakoid stacking. C4 enzymes had strict tissue-specific localization patterns within bundle sheath and mesophyll cells in both cotyledons and leaves. The decarboxylase NAD-ME maintained the highest activity, increasing from cotyledons to leaves. This classified T. simplex as fully C4 across ontogeny and a strictly NAD-ME biochemical subtype. CONCLUSIONS Tetraena simplex cotyledons and leaves showed differences in Kranz type, with associated progression in ultrastructural features, and differing activities/expression levels of C4 enzymes. Furthermore, leaves characterized a new "Tetraena" variation of the kochioid Kranz anatomy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riyadh Muhaidat
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Yarmouk University, Irbid, P. O. Box 21163, Jordan
| | - Athena D McKown
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Forest Sciences Centre, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Mazhar Al Zoubi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Yarmouk University, Irbid, P. O. Box 21163, Jordan
- Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Yarmouk University, Irbid, P. O. Box 21163, Jordan
| | - Zakariya Bani Domi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Yarmouk University, Irbid, P. O. Box 21163, Jordan
| | - Osama Otoum
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Yarmouk University, Irbid, P. O. Box 21163, Jordan
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Wang P, Khoshravesh R, Karki S, Tapia R, Balahadia CP, Bandyopadhyay A, Quick WP, Furbank R, Sage TL, Langdale JA. Re-creation of a Key Step in the Evolutionary Switch from C 3 to C 4 Leaf Anatomy. Curr Biol 2017; 27:3278-3287.e6. [PMID: 29056456 PMCID: PMC5678070 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.09.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2017] [Revised: 09/18/2017] [Accepted: 09/19/2017] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The C4 photosynthetic pathway accounts for ∼25% of primary productivity on the planet despite being used by only 3% of species. Because C4 plants are higher yielding than C3 plants, efforts are underway to introduce the C4 pathway into the C3 crop rice. This is an ambitious endeavor; however, the C4 pathway evolved from C3 on multiple independent occasions over the last 30 million years, and steps along the trajectory are evident in extant species. One approach toward engineering C4 rice is to recapitulate this trajectory, one of the first steps of which was a change in leaf anatomy. The transition from C3 to so-called "proto-Kranz" anatomy requires an increase in organelle volume in sheath cells surrounding leaf veins. Here we induced chloroplast and mitochondrial development in rice vascular sheath cells through constitutive expression of maize GOLDEN2-LIKE genes. Increased organelle volume was accompanied by the accumulation of photosynthetic enzymes and by increased intercellular connections. This suite of traits reflects that seen in "proto-Kranz" species, and, as such, a key step toward engineering C4 rice has been achieved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Wang
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3RB, UK
| | - Roxana Khoshravesh
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S3B2, Canada
| | - Shanta Karki
- International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Los Banos 4030, Laguna, the Philippines
| | - Ronald Tapia
- International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Los Banos 4030, Laguna, the Philippines
| | - C Paolo Balahadia
- International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Los Banos 4030, Laguna, the Philippines
| | - Anindya Bandyopadhyay
- International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Los Banos 4030, Laguna, the Philippines
| | - W Paul Quick
- International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Los Banos 4030, Laguna, the Philippines; Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Robert Furbank
- CSIRO, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Tammy L Sage
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S3B2, Canada.
| | - Jane A Langdale
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3RB, UK.
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24
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Schüssler C, Freitag H, Koteyeva N, Schmidt D, Edwards G, Voznesenskaya E, Kadereit G. Molecular phylogeny and forms of photosynthesis in tribe Salsoleae (Chenopodiaceae). JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2017; 68:207-223. [PMID: 28003310 PMCID: PMC5853613 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erw432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2016] [Accepted: 11/04/2016] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
While many C4 lineages have Kranz anatomy around individual veins, Salsoleae have evolved the Salsoloid Kranz anatomy where a continuous dual layer of chlorenchyma cells encloses the vascular and water-storage tissue. With the aim of elucidating the evolution of C4 photosynthesis in Salsoleae, a broadly sampled molecular phylogeny and anatomical survey was conducted, together with biochemical, microscopic, and physiological analyses of selected photosynthetic types. From analyses of photosynthetic phenotypes, a model for evolution of this form of C4 was compared with models for evolution of Kranz anatomy around individual veins. A functionally C3 proto-Kranz phenotype (Proto-Kranz Sympegmoid) and intermediates with a photorespiratory pump (Kranz-like Sympegmoid and Kranz-like Salsoloid types) are considered crucial transitional steps towards C4 development. The molecular phylogeny provides evidence for C3 being the ancestral photosynthetic pathway but there is no phylogenetic evidence for the ancestry of C3-C4 intermediacy with respect to C4 in Salsoleae. Traits considered advantageous in arid conditions, such as annual life form, central sclerenchyma in leaves, and reduction of surface area, evolved repeatedly in Salsoleae. The recurrent evolution of a green stem cortex taking over photosynthesis in C4 clades of Salsoleae concurrent with leaf reduction was probably favoured by the higher productivity of the C4 cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Schüssler
- Botany Department, State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart, Rosenstein 1, D-70191 Stuttgart, Germany
- Centre for Organismal Studies Heidelberg, Biodiversity and Plant Systematics, Heidelberg University, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Helmut Freitag
- Institut für Biologie, Universität Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Str. 40, D-34132 Kassel, Germany
| | - Nuria Koteyeva
- Laboratory of Anatomy and Morphology, V. L. Komarov Botanical Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, Prof. Popov Street 2, 197376, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Denise Schmidt
- Institute für Allgemeine und Spezielle Botanik und Botanischer Garten der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, D-55099 Mainz, Germany
| | - Gerald Edwards
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4236, USA
| | - Elena Voznesenskaya
- Laboratory of Anatomy and Morphology, V. L. Komarov Botanical Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, Prof. Popov Street 2, 197376, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Gudrun Kadereit
- Institute für Allgemeine und Spezielle Botanik und Botanischer Garten der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, D-55099 Mainz, Germany
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25
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Schlüter U, Bräutigam A, Gowik U, Melzer M, Christin PA, Kurz S, Mettler-Altmann T, Weber AP. Photosynthesis in C3-C4 intermediate Moricandia species. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2017; 68:191-206. [PMID: 28110276 PMCID: PMC5853546 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erw391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2016] [Accepted: 09/29/2016] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Evolution of C4 photosynthesis is not distributed evenly in the plant kingdom. Particularly interesting is the situation in the Brassicaceae, because the family contains no C4 species, but several C3-C4 intermediates, mainly in the genus Moricandia Investigation of leaf anatomy, gas exchange parameters, the metabolome, and the transcriptome of two C3-C4 intermediate Moricandia species, M. arvensis and M. suffruticosa, and their close C3 relative M. moricandioides enabled us to unravel the specific C3-C4 characteristics in these Moricandia lines. Reduced CO2 compensation points in these lines were accompanied by anatomical adjustments, such as centripetal concentration of organelles in the bundle sheath, and metabolic adjustments, such as the balancing of C and N metabolism between mesophyll and bundle sheath cells by multiple pathways. Evolution from C3 to C3-C4 intermediacy was probably facilitated first by loss of one copy of the glycine decarboxylase P-protein, followed by dominant activity of a bundle sheath-specific element in its promoter. In contrast to recent models, installation of the C3-C4 pathway was not accompanied by enhanced activity of the C4 cycle. Our results indicate that metabolic limitations connected to N metabolism or anatomical limitations connected to vein density could have constrained evolution of C4 in Moricandia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Urte Schlüter
- Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Andrea Bräutigam
- Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
- Network Analysis and Modelling, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Research (IPK), OT Gatersleben, Corrensstr. 3, 06466 Stadt Seeland, Germany
| | - Udo Gowik
- Institute of Plant Molecular and Developmental Biology, Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Michael Melzer
- Structural Cell Biology, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Research (IPK), OT Gatersleben, Corrensstr. 3, 06466 Stadt Seeland, Germany
| | - Pascal-Antoine Christin
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Samantha Kurz
- Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Tabea Mettler-Altmann
- Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Andreas Pm Weber
- Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
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26
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Voznesenskaya EV, Koteyeva NK, Edwards GE, Ocampo G. Unique photosynthetic phenotypes in Portulaca (Portulacaceae): C3-C4 intermediates and NAD-ME C4 species with Pilosoid-type Kranz anatomy. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2017; 68:225-239. [PMID: 27986845 PMCID: PMC5853368 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erw393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2016] [Accepted: 10/18/2016] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Portulacaceae is a family that has considerable diversity in photosynthetic phenotypes. It is one of 19 families of terrestrial plants where species having C4 photosynthesis have been found. Most species in Portulaca are in the alternate-leaved (AL) lineage, which includes one clade (Cryptopetala) with taxa lacking C4 photosynthesis and three clades having C4 species (Oleracea, Umbraticola and Pilosa). All three species in the Cryptopetala clade lack Kranz anatomy, the leaves have C3-like carbon isotope composition and they have low levels of C4 cycle enzymes. Anatomical, biochemical and physiological analyses show they are all C3-C4 intermediates. They have intermediate CO2 compensation points, enrichment of organelles in the centripetal position in bundle sheath (BS) cells, with selective localization of glycine decarboxylase in BS mitochondria. In the three C4 clades there are differences in Kranz anatomy types and form of malic enzyme (ME) reported to function in C4 (NAD-ME versus NADP-ME): Oleracea (Atriplicoid, NAD-ME), Umbraticola (Atriplicoid, NADP-ME) and Pilosa (Pilosoid, NADP-ME). Structural and biochemical analyses were performed on Pilosa clade representatives having Pilosoid-type leaf anatomy with Kranz tissue enclosing individual peripheral vascular bundles and water storage in the center of the leaf. In this clade, all species except P. elatior are NADP-ME-type C4 species with grana-deficient BS chloroplasts and grana-enriched M chloroplasts. Surprisingly, P. elatior has BS chloroplasts enriched in grana and NAD-ME-type photosynthesis. The results suggest photosynthetic phenotypes were probably derived from an ancestor with NADP-ME-type C4, with two independent switches to NAD-ME type.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena V Voznesenskaya
- Laboratory of Anatomy and Morphology, VL Komarov Botanical Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, Prof. Popov Street 2, 197376, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Nuria K Koteyeva
- Laboratory of Anatomy and Morphology, VL Komarov Botanical Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, Prof. Popov Street 2, 197376, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Gerald E Edwards
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4236, USA
| | - Gilberto Ocampo
- Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico
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27
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Sage RF, Sultmanis S. Why are there no C 4 forests? JOURNAL OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2016; 203:55-68. [PMID: 27481816 DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2016.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2016] [Revised: 06/13/2016] [Accepted: 06/15/2016] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
C4 photosynthesis is absent from the arborescent life form, with the exception of seven Hawaiian Euphorbia species and a few desert shrubs that become arborescent with age. As a consequence, wherever C3 trees can establish, their height advantage enables them to outcompete low stature C4 vegetation. Had C4 photosynthesis been able to evolve in an arborescent life form, forest cover (by C4 trees) could have been much more extensive than today, with significant consequences for the biosphere. Here, we address why there are so few C4 trees. Physiological explanations associated with low light performance of C4 photosynthesis are not supported, because C4 shade-tolerant species exhibit similar performance as shade-tolerant C3 species in terms of quantum yield, steady-state photosynthetic and use of sunflecks. Hence, hypothetical C4 trees could occur in the regeneration niche of forests. Constraints associated with the evolutionary history of the C4 lineages are more plausible. Most C4 species are grasses and sedges, which lack meristems needed for arborescence, while most C4 eudicots are highly specialized for harsh (arid, saline, hot) or disturbed habitats where arborescence may be maladapted. Most C4 eudicot clades are also young, and have not had sufficient time to radiate beyond the extreme environments where C4 evolution is favored. In the case of the Hawaiian Euphorbia species, they belong to one of the oldest and most diverse C4 lineages, which primed this group to evolve arborescence in a low-competition environment that appeared on the remote Hawaiian Islands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rowan F Sage
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S3B2, Canada.
| | - Stefanie Sultmanis
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S3B2, Canada
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28
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Lundgren MR, Christin PA, Escobar EG, Ripley BS, Besnard G, Long CM, Hattersley PW, Ellis RP, Leegood RC, Osborne CP. Evolutionary implications of C3 -C4 intermediates in the grass Alloteropsis semialata. PLANT, CELL & ENVIRONMENT 2016; 39:1874-1885. [PMID: 26524631 DOI: 10.1111/pce.12665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2015] [Revised: 10/21/2015] [Accepted: 10/25/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
C4 photosynthesis is a complex trait resulting from a series of anatomical and biochemical modifications to the ancestral C3 pathway. It is thought to evolve in a stepwise manner, creating intermediates with different combinations of C4 -like components. Determining the adaptive value of these components is key to understanding how C4 photosynthesis can gradually assemble through natural selection. Here, we decompose the photosynthetic phenotypes of numerous individuals of the grass Alloteropsis semialata, the only species known to include both C3 and C4 genotypes. Analyses of δ(13) C, physiology and leaf anatomy demonstrate for the first time the existence of physiological C3 -C4 intermediate individuals in the species. Based on previous phylogenetic analyses, the C3 -C4 individuals are not hybrids between the C3 and C4 genotypes analysed, but instead belong to a distinct genetic lineage, and might have given rise to C4 descendants. C3 A. semialata, present in colder climates, likely represents a reversal from a C3 -C4 intermediate state, indicating that, unlike C4 photosynthesis, evolution of the C3 -C4 phenotype is not irreversible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marjorie R Lundgren
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Pascal-Antoine Christin
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Emmanuel Gonzalez Escobar
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Brad S Ripley
- Botany Department, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6139, South Africa
| | - Guillaume Besnard
- CNRS, Université de Toulouse, ENFA, UMR5174 EDB (Laboratoire Évolution and Diversité Biologique), 118 Route de Narbonne, Toulouse, 31062, France
| | - Christine M Long
- Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries, Northern Territory Government, Darwin, NT, 0801, Australia
| | - Paul W Hattersley
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry (honorary research fellow), University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | | | - Richard C Leegood
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Colin P Osborne
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
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29
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Schulze S, Westhoff P, Gowik U. Glycine decarboxylase in C3, C4 and C3-C4 intermediate species. CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY 2016; 31:29-35. [PMID: 27038285 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2016.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2015] [Revised: 03/11/2016] [Accepted: 03/16/2016] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
The glycine decarboxylase complex (GDC) plays a central role in photorespiration. GDC is localized in the mitochondria and together with serine hydroxymethyltransferase it converts two molecules of glycine to one molecule of serine, CO2 and NH3. Overexpression of GDC subunits in the C3 species Arabidopsis thaliana can increase the metabolic flux through the photorespiratory pathway leading to enhanced photosynthetic efficiency and consequently to an enhanced biomass production of the transgenic plants. Changing the spatial expression patterns of GDC subunits was an important step during the evolution of C3-C4 intermediate and likely also C4 plants. Restriction of the GDC activity to the bundle sheath cells led to the establishment of a photorespiratory CO2 pump.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Schulze
- Institute of Plant Molecular and Developmental Biology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Universitaetsstrasse 1, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Peter Westhoff
- Institute of Plant Molecular and Developmental Biology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Universitaetsstrasse 1, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany; Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences 'From Complex Traits towards Synthetic Modules', 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Udo Gowik
- Institute of Plant Molecular and Developmental Biology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Universitaetsstrasse 1, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany.
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30
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Sage RF, Khoshravesh R. Passive CO2 concentration in higher plants. CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY 2016; 31:58-65. [PMID: 27058940 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2016.03.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2016] [Revised: 03/16/2016] [Accepted: 03/23/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Photorespiratory limitations on C3 photosynthesis are substantial in warm, low CO2 conditions. To compensate, certain plants evolved mechanisms to actively concentrate CO2 around Rubisco using ATP-supported CO2 pumps such as C4 photosynthesis. Plants can also passively accumulate CO2 without additional ATP expenditure by localizing the release of photorespired and respired CO2 around Rubisco that is diffusively isolated from peripheral air spaces. Passive accumulation of photorespired CO2 occurs when glycine decarboxylase is localized to vascular sheath cells in what is termed C2 photosynthesis, and through forming sheaths of chloroplasts around the periphery of mesophyll cells. The peripheral sheaths require photorespired CO2 to re-enter chloroplasts where it can be refixed. Passive accumulation of respiratory CO2 is common in organs such as stems, fruits and flowers, due to abundant heterotrophic tissues and high diffusive resistance along the organ periphery. Chloroplasts within these organs are able to exploit this high CO2 to reduce photorespiration. CO2 concentration can also be enhanced passively by channeling respired CO2 from roots and rhizomes into photosynthetic cells of stems and leaves via lacunae, aerenchyma and the xylem stream. Through passive CO2 concentration, C3 species likely improved their carbon economy and maintained fitness during episodes of low atmospheric CO2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rowan F Sage
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S3B2, Canada.
| | - Roxana Khoshravesh
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S3B2, Canada
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31
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Heckmann D. C4 photosynthesis evolution: the conditional Mt. Fuji. CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY 2016; 31:149-54. [PMID: 27153468 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2016.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2015] [Revised: 04/04/2016] [Accepted: 04/21/2016] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
C4 photosynthesis implements a biochemical carbon pump to suppress photorespiration. While this mechanism allows for increased photosynthetic efficiency, it requires the ancestral C3 state to be modified in terms of leaf anatomy, expression of metabolic genes, and enzyme kinetics. Despite the complexity of the C4 syndrome, it evolved in more than 60 independent lineages. Because the phylogenetic distribution of these origins appears to be non-random, enabling factors that are initially unrelated to C4 photosynthesis are assumed to be acting in certain C3 lineages. In recent years, substantial progress has been made on firstly, the nature of enabling events and finally, quantitative models of C4 evolution that are based on C3-C4 intermediate species. I discuss the synthesis of these approaches as a consensus trajectory towards C4 photosynthesis and hypothesize on the effect of enabling factors on the fitness landscape of C4 evolution. A complete understanding of these mechanisms will require both further experimental studies and improved quantitative models of leaf physiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Heckmann
- Heinrich Heine University, Institute for Computer Science, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
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32
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Lin H, Karki S, Coe RA, Bagha S, Khoshravesh R, Balahadia CP, Ver Sagun J, Tapia R, Israel WK, Montecillo F, de Luna A, Danila FR, Lazaro A, Realubit CM, Acoba MG, Sage TL, von Caemmerer S, Furbank RT, Cousins AB, Hibberd JM, Quick WP, Covshoff S. Targeted Knockdown of GDCH in Rice Leads to a Photorespiratory-Deficient Phenotype Useful as a Building Block for C4 Rice. PLANT & CELL PHYSIOLOGY 2016; 57:919-32. [PMID: 26903527 DOI: 10.1093/pcp/pcw033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2015] [Accepted: 02/10/2016] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
The glycine decarboxylase complex (GDC) plays a critical role in the photorespiratory C2 cycle of C3 species by recovering carbon following the oxygenation reaction of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase. Loss of GDC from mesophyll cells (MCs) is considered a key early step in the evolution of C4 photosynthesis. To assess the impact of preferentially reducing GDC in rice MCs, we decreased the abundance of OsGDCH (Os10g37180) using an artificial microRNA (amiRNA) driven by a promoter that preferentially drives expression in MCs. GDC H- and P-proteins were undetectable in leaves of gdch lines. Plants exhibited a photorespiratory-deficient phenotype with stunted growth, accelerated leaf senescence, reduced chlorophyll, soluble protein and sugars, and increased glycine accumulation in leaves. Gas exchange measurements indicated an impaired ability to regenerate ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate in photorespiratory conditions. In addition, MCs of gdch lines exhibited a significant reduction in chloroplast area and coverage of the cell wall when grown in air, traits that occur during the later stages of C4 evolution. The presence of these two traits important for C4 photosynthesis and the non-lethal, down-regulation of the photorespiratory C2 cycle positively contribute to efforts to produce a C4 rice prototype.
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Affiliation(s)
- HsiangChun Lin
- C4 Rice Center, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Shanta Karki
- C4 Rice Center, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Robert A Coe
- C4 Rice Center, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Shaheen Bagha
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - Roxana Khoshravesh
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - C Paolo Balahadia
- C4 Rice Center, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines
| | - Julius Ver Sagun
- C4 Rice Center, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines
| | - Ronald Tapia
- C4 Rice Center, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines
| | - W Krystler Israel
- C4 Rice Center, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines
| | | | - Albert de Luna
- C4 Rice Center, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines
| | - Florence R Danila
- C4 Rice Center, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines
| | - Andrea Lazaro
- C4 Rice Center, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines
| | - Czarina M Realubit
- C4 Rice Center, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines
| | - Michelle G Acoba
- C4 Rice Center, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines
| | - Tammy L Sage
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - Susanne von Caemmerer
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Acton, 2601, Australia
| | - Robert T Furbank
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Acton, 2601, Australia
| | - Asaph B Cousins
- School of Biological Sciences, Molecular Plant Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4236, USA
| | - Julian M Hibberd
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK
| | - W Paul Quick
- C4 Rice Center, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Sarah Covshoff
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK
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33
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Schlüter U, Weber APM. The Road to C4 Photosynthesis: Evolution of a Complex Trait via Intermediary States. PLANT & CELL PHYSIOLOGY 2016; 57:881-9. [PMID: 26893471 DOI: 10.1093/pcp/pcw009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2015] [Accepted: 01/05/2016] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
C4 photosynthesis enables high photosynthetic energy conversion efficiency as well as high nitrogen and water use efficiencies. Given the multitude of biochemical, structural and molecular changes in comparison with C3 photosynthesis, it appears unlikely that such a complex trait would evolve in a single step. C4 photosynthesis is therefore believed to have evolved from the ancestral C3 state via intermediary stages. Consequently, the identification and detailed characterization of plant species representing transitory states between C3 and C4 is important for the reconstruction of the sequence of evolutionary events, especially since C4 evolution occurred in very different phylogenetic backgrounds. There is also significant interest in engineering of C4 or at least C4-like elements into C3 crop plants. A detailed and mechanistic understanding of C3-C4 intermediates is likely to provide guidance for the experimental design of such approaches. Here we provide an overview on the most relevant results obtained on C3-C4 intermediates to date. Recent knowledge gains in this field will be described in more detail. We thereby concentrate especially on biochemical and physiological work. Finally, we will provide a perspective and outlook on the continued importance of research on C3-C4 intermediates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Urte Schlüter
- Institute of Plant Biochemistry and Cluster of Excellence on Plant Science (CEPLAS), Heinrich-Heine-University, Universitätsstrasse 1, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Andreas P M Weber
- Institute of Plant Biochemistry and Cluster of Excellence on Plant Science (CEPLAS), Heinrich-Heine-University, Universitätsstrasse 1, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
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Khoshravesh R, Stinson CR, Stata M, Busch FA, Sage RF, Ludwig M, Sage TL. C3-C4 intermediacy in grasses: organelle enrichment and distribution, glycine decarboxylase expression, and the rise of C2 photosynthesis. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2016; 67:3065-78. [PMID: 27073202 PMCID: PMC4867898 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erw150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Photorespiratory glycine shuttling and decarboxylation in bundle sheath (BS) cells exhibited by C2 species is proposed to be the evolutionary bridge to C4 photosynthesis in eudicots. To evaluate this in grasses, we compare anatomy, cellular localization of glycine decarboxylase (GDC), and photosynthetic physiology of a suspected C2 grass, Homolepis aturensis, with these traits in known C2 grasses, Neurachne minor and Steinchisma hians, and C3 S laxum that is sister to S hians We also use publicly available genome and RNA-sequencing data to examine the evolution of GDC subunits and enhance our understanding of the evolution of BS-specific GDC expression in C2 and C4 grasses. Our results confirm the identity of H aturensis as a C2 species; GDC is confined predominantly to the organelle-enriched BS cells in H aturensis and S hians and to mestome sheath cells of N minor Phylogenetic analyses and data obtained from immunodetection of the P-subunit of GDC are consistent with the hypothesis that the BS dominant levels of GDC in C2 and C4 species are due to changes in expression of a single GLDP gene in M and BS cells. All BS mitochondria and peroxisomes and most chloroplasts in H aturensis and S hians are situated centripetally in a pattern identical to C2 eudicots. In S laxum, which has C3-like gas exchange patterns, mitochondria and peroxisomes are positioned centripetally as they are in S hians This subcellular phenotype, also present in eudicots, is posited to initiate a facilitation cascade leading to C2 and C4 photosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roxana Khoshravesh
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks St., Ontario, ON M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - Corey R Stinson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks St., Ontario, ON M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - Matt Stata
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks St., Ontario, ON M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - Florian A Busch
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Rowan F Sage
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks St., Ontario, ON M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - Martha Ludwig
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Tammy L Sage
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks St., Ontario, ON M5S 3B2, Canada
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Stata M, Sage TL, Hoffmann N, Covshoff S, Ka-Shu Wong G, Sage RF. Mesophyll Chloroplast Investment in C3, C4 and C2 Species of the Genus Flaveria. PLANT & CELL PHYSIOLOGY 2016; 57:904-918. [PMID: 26985020 DOI: 10.1093/pcp/pcw015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2015] [Accepted: 01/07/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The mesophyll (M) cells of C4 plants contain fewer chloroplasts than observed in related C3 plants; however, it is uncertain where along the evolutionary transition from C3 to C4 that the reduction in M chloroplast number occurs. Using 18 species in the genus Flaveria, which contains C3, C4 and a range of C3-C4 intermediate species, we examined changes in chloroplast number and size per M cell, and positioning of chloroplasts relative to the M cell periphery. Chloroplast number and coverage of the M cell periphery declined in proportion to increasing strength of C4 metabolism in Flaveria, while chloroplast size increased with increasing C4 cycle strength. These changes increase cytosolic exposure to the cell periphery which could enhance diffusion of inorganic carbon to phosphenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC), a cytosolic enzyme. Analysis of the transcriptome from juvenile leaves of nine Flaveria species showed that the transcript abundance of four genes involved in plastid biogenesis-FtsZ1, FtsZ2, DRP5B and PARC6-was negatively correlated with variation in C4 cycle strength and positively correlated with M chloroplast number per planar cell area. Chloroplast size was negatively correlated with abundance of FtsZ1, FtsZ2 and PARC6 transcripts. These results indicate that natural selection targeted the proteins of the contractile ring assembly to effect the reduction in chloroplast numbers in the M cells of C4 Flaveria species. If so, efforts to engineer the C4 pathway into C3 plants might evaluate whether inducing transcriptome changes similar to those observed in Flaveria could reduce M chloroplast numbers, and thus introduce a trait that appears essential for efficient C4 function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matt Stata
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S3B2 Canada
| | - Tammy L Sage
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S3B2 Canada
| | - Natalie Hoffmann
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S3B2 Canada
| | - Sarah Covshoff
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK
| | - Gane Ka-Shu Wong
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton AB, T6G 2E9, Canada Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton AB, T6G 2E1, Canada BGI-Shenzhen, Beishan Industrial Zone, Yantian District, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | - Rowan F Sage
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S3B2 Canada
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Bräutigam A, Gowik U. Photorespiration connects C 3and C 4photosynthesis. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2016; 67:2953-62. [PMID: 26912798 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erw056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
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Sage RF, Stata M. Photosynthetic diversity meets biodiversity: the C4 plant example. JOURNAL OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2015; 172:104-19. [PMID: 25264020 DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2014.07.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2014] [Revised: 07/02/2014] [Accepted: 07/02/2014] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Physiological diversification reflects adaptation for specific environmental challenges. As the major physiological process that provides plants with carbon and energy, photosynthesis is under strong evolutionary selection that gives rise to variability in nearly all parts of the photosynthetic apparatus. Here, we discuss how plants, notably those using C4 photosynthesis, diversified in response to environmental challenges imposed by declining atmospheric CO2 content in recent geological time. This reduction in atmospheric CO2 increases the rate of photorespiration and reduces photosynthetic efficiency. While plants have evolved numerous mechanisms to compensate for low CO2, the most effective are the carbon concentration mechanisms of C4, C2, and CAM photosynthesis; and the pumping of dissolved inorganic carbon, mainly by algae. C4 photosynthesis enables plants to dominate warm, dry and often salinized habitats, and to colonize areas that are too stressful for most plant groups. Because C4 lineages generally lack arborescence, they cannot form forests. Hence, where they predominate, C4 plants create a different landscape than would occur if C3 plants were to predominate. These landscapes (mostly grasslands and savannahs) present unique selection environments that promoted the diversification of animal guilds able to graze upon the C4 vegetation. Thus, the rise of C4 photosynthesis has made a significant contribution to the origin of numerous biomes in the modern biosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rowan F Sage
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S3B2.
| | - Matt Stata
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S3B2
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Wen Z, Zhang M. Salsola laricifolia, another C3-C 4 intermediate species in tribe Salsoleae s.l. (Chenopodiaceae). PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2015; 123:33-43. [PMID: 25227996 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-014-0037-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2013] [Accepted: 08/14/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
This study identifies Salsola laricifolia as a C3-C4 intermediate in tribe Salsoleae s.l., Chenopodiaceae, and compares S. laricifolia with the previously described C3-C4 intermediates in Salsoleae. Photosynthetic pathway characteristics were studied in four species of this tribe including S. laricifolia, C3 Sympegma regelii, C3-C4 S. arbusculiformis, and C4 S. arbuscula, using the approaches of leaf anatomy and ultrastructure, activities of ribulose 1-5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) and PEP carboxylase (PEPC), CO2 compensation point, and immunolocalization of Rubisco, PEPC, and the P-subunit of glycine decarboxylase (GDC). Salsola laricifolia has intermediate features, with near continuous and distinctive Kranz-like cells (KLCs) compared with the C3-Sympegmoid anatomical type and the C3-C4 intermediate S. arbusculiformis, a relatively low CO2 compensation point (30.4 μmol mol(-1)) and mesophyll (M)-to KLC tissue ratio, mitochondria in KLCs primarily occurring along the centripetal wall, and specific localization of P-protein GDC in the KLCs. The C3-type isotope value (-22.4 ‰), the absence of the clear labeling for PEPC in M cells, and the low activity of the PEPC enzyme (61.5 μmol mg(-1 )chlorophyll(-1) h(-1)) support the identification of S. laricifolia as a type I C3-C4 intermediate. Although these C3-C4 intermediate species have different structural features, one with discontinuous KL cells and the other with continuous, they have similar characteristics in physiology and biochemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhibin Wen
- Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresource in Arid Land, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 818 South Beijing Road, Ürūmqi, 830011, Xinjiang, People's Republic of China,
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Stata M, Sage TL, Rennie TD, Khoshravesh R, Sultmanis S, Khaikin Y, Ludwig M, Sage RF. Mesophyll cells of C4 plants have fewer chloroplasts than those of closely related C3 plants. PLANT, CELL & ENVIRONMENT 2014; 37:2587-2600. [PMID: 24689501 DOI: 10.1111/pce.12331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2013] [Revised: 03/03/2014] [Accepted: 03/17/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The evolution of C(4) photosynthesis from C(3) ancestors eliminates ribulose bisphosphate carboxylation in the mesophyll (M) cell chloroplast while activating phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxylation in the cytosol. These changes may lead to fewer chloroplasts and different chloroplast positioning within M cells. To evaluate these possibilities, we compared chloroplast number, size and position in M cells of closely related C(3), C(3) -C(4) intermediate and C(4) species from 12 lineages of C(4) evolution. All C(3) species had more chloroplasts per M cell area than their C(4) relatives in high-light growth conditions. C(3) species also had higher chloroplast coverage of the M cell periphery than C(4) species, particularly opposite intercellular air spaces. In M cells from 10 of the 12 C(4) lineages, a greater fraction of the chloroplast envelope was pulled away from the plasmalemma in the C(4) species than their C(3) relatives. C(3) -C(4) intermediate species generally exhibited similar patterns as their C(3) relatives. We interpret these results to reflect adaptive shifts that facilitate efficient C(4) function by enhancing diffusive access to the site of primary carbon fixation in the cytosol. Fewer chloroplasts in C(4) M cells would also reduce shading of the bundle sheath chloroplasts, which also generate energy required by C(4) photosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matt Stata
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5S 3B2
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Sage RF, Khoshravesh R, Sage TL. From proto-Kranz to C4 Kranz: building the bridge to C4 photosynthesis. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2014; 65:3341-56. [PMID: 24803502 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/eru180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
In this review, we examine how the specialized "Kranz" anatomy of C4 photosynthesis evolved from C3 ancestors. Kranz anatomy refers to the wreath-like structural traits that compartmentalize the biochemistry of C4 photosynthesis and enables the concentration of CO2 around Rubisco. A simplified version of Kranz anatomy is also present in the species that utilize C2 photosynthesis, where a photorespiratory glycine shuttle concentrates CO2 into an inner bundle-sheath-like compartment surrounding the vascular tissue. C2 Kranz is considered to be an intermediate stage in the evolutionary development of C4 Kranz, based on the intermediate branching position of C2 species in 14 evolutionary lineages of C4 photosynthesis. In the best-supported model of C4 evolution, Kranz anatomy in C2 species evolved from C3 ancestors with enlarged bundle sheath cells and high vein density. Four independent lineages have been identified where C3 sister species of C2 plants exhibit an increase in organelle numbers in the bundle sheath and enlarged bundle sheath cells. Notably, in all of these species, there is a pronounced shift of mitochondria to the inner bundle sheath wall, forming an incipient version of the C2 type of Kranz anatomy. This incipient version of C2 Kranz anatomy is termed proto-Kranz, and is proposed to scavenge photorespiratory CO2. By doing so, it may provide fitness benefits in hot environments, and thus represent a critical first stage of the evolution of both the C2 and C4 forms of Kranz anatomy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rowan F Sage
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, On M5S3B2 Canada
| | - Roxana Khoshravesh
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, On M5S3B2 Canada
| | - Tammy L Sage
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, On M5S3B2 Canada
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Fouracre JP, Ando S, Langdale JA. Cracking the Kranz enigma with systems biology. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2014; 65:3327-39. [PMID: 24510938 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/eru015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Leaves with Kranz anatomy exhibit a highly characteristic arrangement of closely spaced veins surrounded by concentric wreaths of bundle sheath and mesophyll cells. This anatomical framework is vital for effective C4 photosynthesis in nearly all known land plant lineages and has evolved independently on over 60 occasions. Over the last 3 years, technological advances, particularly in high-throughput DNA sequencing, have allowed the development of Kranz anatomy to be interrogated at unprecedented depth. This review highlights the recent advances in our understanding that have been facilitated by systems biology approaches, and proposes a testable model for the regulation of Kranz development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jim P Fouracre
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3RB, UK
| | - Sayuri Ando
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3RB, UK
| | - Jane A Langdale
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3RB, UK
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Oakley JC, Sultmanis S, Stinson CR, Sage TL, Sage RF. Comparative studies of C3 and C4 Atriplex hybrids in the genomics era: physiological assessments. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2014; 65:3637-47. [PMID: 24675672 PMCID: PMC4085961 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/eru106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
We crossed the C3 species Atriplex prostrata with the C4 species Atriplex rosea to produce F1 and F2 hybrids. All hybrids exhibited C3-like δ(13)C values, and had reduced rates of net CO2 assimilation compared with A. prostrata. The activities of the major C4 cycle enzymes PEP carboxylase, NAD-malic enzyme, and pyruvate-Pi dikinase in the hybrids were at most 36% of the C4 values. These results demonstrate the C4 metabolic cycle was disrupted in the hybrids. Photosynthetic CO2 compensation points (Г) of the hybrids were generally midway between the C3 and C4 values, and in most hybrids were accompanied by low, C3-like activities in one or more of the major C4 cycle enzymes. This supports the possibility that most hybrids use a photorespiratory glycine shuttle to concentrate CO2 into the bundle sheath cells. One hybrid exhibited a C4-like Г of 4 µmol mol(-1), indicating engagement of a C4 metabolic cycle. Consistently, this hybrid had elevated activities of all measured C4 cycle enzymes relative to the C3 parent; however, C3-like carbon isotope ratios indicate the low Г is mainly due to a photorespiratory glycine shuttle. The anatomy of the hybrids resembled that of C3-C4 intermediate species using a glycine shuttle to concentrate CO2 in the bundle sheath, and is further evidence that this physiology is the predominant, default condition of the F2 hybrids. Progeny of these hybrids should further segregate C3 and C4 traits and in doing so assist in the discovery of C4 genes using high-throughput methods of the genomics era.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason C Oakley
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S3B2 Canada
| | - Stefanie Sultmanis
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S3B2 Canada
| | - Corey R Stinson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S3B2 Canada
| | - Tammy L Sage
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S3B2 Canada
| | - Rowan F Sage
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S3B2 Canada
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Bissinger K, Khoshravesh R, Kotrade JP, Oakley J, Sage TL, Sage RF, Hartmann HEK, Kadereit G. Gisekia (Gisekiaceae): phylogenetic relationships, biogeography, and ecophysiology of a poorly known C₄ lineage in the Caryophyllales. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2014; 101:499-509. [PMID: 24638165 DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1300279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE OF THE STUDY Gisekiaceae are a monogeneric family of the core Caryophyllales distributed in arid regions of Africa and Asia. The only widespread species of the genus, Gisekia pharnaceoides, performs C4 photosynthesis based on CO2 compensation point measurements. This study investigates the C4 syndrome and its evolution in Gisekia. The infrageneric relationships, distribution and bioclimatic preferences of Gisekia are also investigated. METHODS Leaf gas exchange characteristics, activity of Rubisco and major C4 cycle enzymes, and ultrastructural characteristics of mesophyll and bundle sheath cells are studied for Gisekia pharnaceoides. δ(13)C values and leaf anatomy are analyzed for all species. A dated molecular phylogeny of 39 accessions representing all species of Gisekiaceae and 14 representatives of closely related core Caryophyllales families is generated using four cp markers and ITS. The precise current distribution and bioclimatic niche of Gisekia is assessed on the basis of 520 georeferenced specimen localities. KEY RESULTS All traditionally recognized species of Gisekia are C4 plants with atriplicoid Kranz anatomy. Gisekia pharnaceoides uses the NAD-ME biochemical type. The molecular phylogeny demonstrated two East African clades nested within South African clades, demonstrating migration along the arid areas of eastern Africa during the Late Miocene/Pliocene Epochs. Most traditionally defined species are polyphyletic. CONCLUSIONS Gisekia represents an isolated C4 lineage within core Caryophyllales dating back to the Miocene Epoch and probably spread along the African arid corridor from a South African center of origin. The seven currently recognized species should be treated as one polymorphic species or species complex, Gisekia pharnaceoides agg.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerstin Bissinger
- Institut für Allgemeine und Spezielle Botanik, Anselm-Franz-von Bentzel weg 9a, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, 55099 Mainz, Germany
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Ocampo G, Koteyeva NK, Voznesenskaya EV, Edwards GE, Sage TL, Sage RF, Columbus JT. Evolution of leaf anatomy and photosynthetic pathways in Portulacaceae. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2013; 100:2388-2402. [PMID: 24259525 DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1300094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE OF THE STUDY Portulacaceae is a family with a remarkable diversity in photosynthetic pathways. This lineage not only has species with different C4 biochemistry (NADP-ME and NAD-ME types) and C3-C4 intermediacy, but also displays different leaf anatomical configurations. Here we addressed the evolutionary history of leaf anatomy and photosynthetic pathways in Portulacaceae. METHODS Photosynthetic pathways were assessed based on leaf anatomy and carbon isotope ratios. Information on the NADP-ME and NAD-ME C4 variants was obtained from the literature. The evolutionary relationships and trait evolution were estimated under a Bayesian framework, and divergence times were calibrated using the ages obtained in a previous study. KEY RESULTS C4 photosynthesis is the main pathway in Portulacaceae. One clade (Cryptopetala), however, includes species that have non-Kranz anatomy and C3 type isotope values, two of which are C3-C4 intermediates. The ancestral leaf anatomy for the family is uncertain. The analysis showed one origin of the C4 pathway, which was lost in the Cryptopetala clade. Nevertheless, when a second analysis was performed taking into account the limited number of species with NAD-ME and NADP-ME data, a secondary gain of the C4 pathway from a C3-C4 intermediate was inferred. CONCLUSIONS The C4 pathway evolved ca. 23 Myr in the Portulacaceae. The number of times that the pathway evolved in the family is uncertain. The diversity of leaf anatomical types and C4 biochemical variants suggest multiple independent origins of C4 photosynthesis. Evidence for a switch from C4 to C3-C4 intermediacy supports the hypothesis that intermediates represent a distinct successful strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilberto Ocampo
- Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden and Claremont Graduate University, 1500 North College Avenue, Claremont, California 91711 USA
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Ludwig M. Evolution of the C4 photosynthetic pathway: events at the cellular and molecular levels. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2013; 117:147-61. [PMID: 23708978 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-013-9853-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2013] [Accepted: 05/14/2013] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
The biochemistry and leaf anatomy of plants using C4 photosynthesis promote the concentration of atmospheric CO2 in leaf tissue that leads to improvements in growth and yield of C4 plants over C3 species in hot, dry, high light, and/or saline environments. C4 plants like maize and sugarcane are significant food, fodder, and bioenergy crops. The C4 photosynthetic pathway is an excellent example of convergent evolution, having evolved in multiple independent lineages of land plants from ancestors employing C3 photosynthesis. In addition to C3 and C4 species, some plant lineages contain closely related C3-C4 intermediate species that demonstrate leaf anatomical, biochemical, and physiological characteristics between those of C3 plants and species using C4 photosynthesis. These groups of plants have been extremely useful in dissecting the modifications to leaf anatomy and molecular biology, which led to the evolution of C4 photosynthesis. It is now clear that great variation exists in C4 leaf anatomy, and diverse molecular mechanisms underlie C4 biochemistry and physiology. However, all these different paths have led to the same destination-the expression of a C4 CO2 concentrating mechanism. Further identification of C4 leaf anatomical traits and molecular biological components, and understanding how they are controlled and assembled will not only allow for additional insights into evolutionary convergence, but also contribute to sustainable food and bioenergy production strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martha Ludwig
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia,
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Christin PA, Osborne CP. The recurrent assembly of C4 photosynthesis, an evolutionary tale. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2013; 117:163-75. [PMID: 23703454 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-013-9852-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2013] [Accepted: 05/13/2013] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Today, plants using C4 photosynthesis are widespread and important components of major tropical and subtropical biomes, but the events that led to their evolution and success started billions of years ago (bya). A CO2-fixing enzyme evolved in the early Earth atmosphere with a tendency to confuse CO2 and O2 molecules. The descendants of early photosynthetic organisms coped with this property in the geological eras that followed through successive fixes, the latest of which is the addition of complex CO2-concentrating mechanisms such as C4 photosynthesis. This trait was assembled from bricks available in C3 ancestors, which were altered to fulfill their new role in C4 photosynthesis. The existence of C4-suitable bricks probably determined the lineages of plants that could make the transition to C4 photosynthesis, highlighting the power of contingency in evolution. Based on the latest findings in C4 research, we present the evolutionary tale of C4 photosynthesis, with a focus on the general evolutionary phenomena that it so wonderfully exemplifies.
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Williams BP, Johnston IG, Covshoff S, Hibberd JM. Phenotypic landscape inference reveals multiple evolutionary paths to C4 photosynthesis. eLife 2013. [PMID: 24082995 DOI: 10.7554/elife.00961.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023] Open
Abstract
C4 photosynthesis has independently evolved from the ancestral C3 pathway in at least 60 plant lineages, but, as with other complex traits, how it evolved is unclear. Here we show that the polyphyletic appearance of C4 photosynthesis is associated with diverse and flexible evolutionary paths that group into four major trajectories. We conducted a meta-analysis of 18 lineages containing species that use C3, C4, or intermediate C3-C4 forms of photosynthesis to parameterise a 16-dimensional phenotypic landscape. We then developed and experimentally verified a novel Bayesian approach based on a hidden Markov model that predicts how the C4 phenotype evolved. The alternative evolutionary histories underlying the appearance of C4 photosynthesis were determined by ancestral lineage and initial phenotypic alterations unrelated to photosynthesis. We conclude that the order of C4 trait acquisition is flexible and driven by non-photosynthetic drivers. This flexibility will have facilitated the convergent evolution of this complex trait. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.00961.001.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben P Williams
- Department of Plant Sciences , University of Cambridge , Cambridge , United Kingdom
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Williams BP, Johnston IG, Covshoff S, Hibberd JM. Phenotypic landscape inference reveals multiple evolutionary paths to C4 photosynthesis. eLife 2013; 2:e00961. [PMID: 24082995 PMCID: PMC3786385 DOI: 10.7554/elife.00961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2013] [Accepted: 08/05/2013] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
C4 photosynthesis has independently evolved from the ancestral C3 pathway in at least 60 plant lineages, but, as with other complex traits, how it evolved is unclear. Here we show that the polyphyletic appearance of C4 photosynthesis is associated with diverse and flexible evolutionary paths that group into four major trajectories. We conducted a meta-analysis of 18 lineages containing species that use C3, C4, or intermediate C3-C4 forms of photosynthesis to parameterise a 16-dimensional phenotypic landscape. We then developed and experimentally verified a novel Bayesian approach based on a hidden Markov model that predicts how the C4 phenotype evolved. The alternative evolutionary histories underlying the appearance of C4 photosynthesis were determined by ancestral lineage and initial phenotypic alterations unrelated to photosynthesis. We conclude that the order of C4 trait acquisition is flexible and driven by non-photosynthetic drivers. This flexibility will have facilitated the convergent evolution of this complex trait. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.00961.001.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben P Williams
- Department of Plant Sciences,
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United
Kingdom
| | - Iain G Johnston
- Department of Mathematics, Imperial
College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sarah Covshoff
- Department of Plant Sciences,
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United
Kingdom
| | - Julian M Hibberd
- Department of Plant Sciences,
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United
Kingdom
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Voznesenskaya EV, Koteyeva NK, Akhani H, Roalson EH, Edwards GE. Structural and physiological analyses in Salsoleae (Chenopodiaceae) indicate multiple transitions among C3, intermediate, and C4 photosynthesis. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2013; 64:3583-604. [PMID: 23881394 PMCID: PMC3745723 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/ert191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
In subfamily Salsoloideae (family Chenopodiaceae) most species are C4 plants having terete leaves with Salsoloid Kranz anatomy characterized by a continuous dual chlorenchyma layer of Kranz cells (KCs) and mesophyll (M) cells, surrounding water storage and vascular tissue. From section Coccosalsola sensu Botschantzev, leaf structural and photosynthetic features were analysed on selected species of Salsola which are not performing C4 based on leaf carbon isotope composition. The results infer the following progression in distinct functional and structural forms from C3 to intermediate to C4 photosynthesis with increased leaf succulence without changes in vein density: From species performing C3 photosynthesis with Sympegmoid anatomy with two equivalent layers of elongated M cells, with few organelles in a discontinuous layer of bundle sheath (BS) cells (S. genistoides, S. masenderanica, S. webbii) > development of proto-Kranz BS cells having mitochondria in a centripetal position and increased chloroplast number (S. montana) > functional C3-C4 intermediates having intermediate CO2 compensation points with refixation of photorespired CO2, development of Kranz-like anatomy with reduction in the outer M cell layer to hypodermal-like cells, and increased specialization (but not size) of a Kranz-like inner layer of cells with increased cell wall thickness, organelle number, and selective expression of mitochondrial glycine decarboxylase (Kranz-like Sympegmoid, S. arbusculiformis; and Kranz-like Salsoloid, S. divaricata) > selective expression of enzymes between the two cell types for performing C4 with Salsoloid-type anatomy. Phylogenetic analysis of tribe Salsoleae shows the occurrence of C3 and intermediates in several clades, and lineages of interest for studying different forms of anatomy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena V. Voznesenskaya
- Laboratory of Anatomy and Morphology, V. L. Komarov Botanical Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, Prof. Popov Street 2, 197376 Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Nuria K. Koteyeva
- Laboratory of Anatomy and Morphology, V. L. Komarov Botanical Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, Prof. Popov Street 2, 197376 Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Hossein Akhani
- Department of Plant Sciences, School of Biology and Center of excellence in Phylogeny of Living Organisms, College of Sciences, University of Tehran, PO Box 14155-6455, Tehran, Iran
| | - Eric H. Roalson
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4236, USA
| | - Gerald E. Edwards
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4236, USA
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50
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Nakamura N, Iwano M, Havaux M, Yokota A, Munekage YN. Promotion of cyclic electron transport around photosystem I during the evolution of NADP-malic enzyme-type C4 photosynthesis in the genus Flaveria. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2013; 199:832-42. [PMID: 23627567 DOI: 10.1111/nph.12296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2013] [Accepted: 03/20/2013] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
C4 plants display higher cyclic electron transport activity than C3 plants. This activity is suggested to be important for the production of ATPs required for C4 metabolism. To understand the process by which photosystem I (PSI) cyclic electron transport was promoted during C4 evolution, we conducted comparative analyses of the functionality of PSI cyclic electron transport among members of the genus Flaveria, which contains several C3, C3-C4 intermediate, C4-like and C4 species. The abundance of NDH-H, a subunit of NADH dehydrogenase-like complex, increased markedly in bundle sheath cells with the activity of the C4 cycle. By contrast, PROTON GRADIENT REGULATION5 (PGR5) and PGR5-LIKE1 increased in both mesophyll and bundle sheath cells in C4-like Flaveria palmeri and C4 species. Grana stacks were drastically reduced in bundle sheath chloroplasts of C4-like F. palmeri and C4 species; these species showed a marked increase in PSI cyclic electron transport activity. These results suggest that both the expression of proteins involved in PSI cyclic electron transport and changes in thylakoid structure contribute to the high activity of cyclic electron flow in NADP-malic enzyme-type C4 photosynthesis. We propose that these changes were important for the establishment of C4 photosynthesis from C3-C4 intermediate photosynthesis in Flaveria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naoya Nakamura
- Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Ikoma, Nara, Japan
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