Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Aug;171(4):2549-61.
doi: 10.1104/pp.16.01846. Epub 2016 Jun 21.

Rubisco Catalytic Properties and Temperature Response in Crops

Carmen Hermida-Carrera  1 , Maxim V Kapralov  1 , Jeroni Galmés  2
Affiliations

Rubisco Catalytic Properties and Temperature Response in Crops

Carmen Hermida-Carrera et al. Plant Physiol. 2016 Aug.

Abstract

Rubisco catalytic traits and their thermal dependence are two major factors limiting the CO2 assimilation potential of plants. In this study, we present the profile of Rubisco kinetics for 20 crop species at three different temperatures. The results largely confirmed the existence of significant variation in the Rubisco kinetics among species. Although some of the species tended to present Rubisco with higher thermal sensitivity (e.g. Oryza sativa) than others (e.g. Lactuca sativa), interspecific differences depended on the kinetic parameter. Comparing the temperature response of the different kinetic parameters, the Rubisco Km for CO2 presented higher energy of activation than the maximum carboxylation rate and the CO2 compensation point in the absence of mitochondrial respiration. The analysis of the Rubisco large subunit sequence revealed the existence of some sites under adaptive evolution in branches with specific kinetic traits. Because Rubisco kinetics and their temperature dependency were species specific, they largely affected the assimilation potential of Rubisco from the different crops, especially under those conditions (i.e. low CO2 availability at the site of carboxylation and high temperature) inducing Rubisco-limited photosynthesis. As an example, at 25°C, Rubisco from Hordeum vulgare and Glycine max presented, respectively, the highest and lowest potential for CO2 assimilation at both high and low chloroplastic CO2 concentrations. In our opinion, this information is relevant to improve photosynthesis models and should be considered in future attempts to design more efficient Rubiscos.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Relationship of kcatc with Kc (A) and the Sc/o (B). Black symbols correspond to C3 species at 15°C (triangles), 25°C (circles), and 35°C (inverted triangles); white symbols correspond to C4 species at 15°C (triangles), 25°C (circles), and 35°C (inverted triangles). Each symbol represents the average value of a single species per temperature interaction.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Simulated ARubisco for C3 and C4 species at 15°C, 25°C, and 35°C and at Cc values of 250 μbar (A) and 150 μbar (B). Equations used to calculate ARubisco were those described in the biochemical model of C3 photosynthesis (Farquhar et al., 1980), as explained in “Materials and Methods.” Bars represent minimum values of Ac- and Aj-limited ARubisco. Asterisks beside the bars indicate Ac-limited ARubisco, and the absence of asterisks indicates Aj-limited ARubisco. The rates of electron transport were 60, 150, and 212 μmol m−2 s−1 at 15°C, 25°C, and 35°C, respectively. The concentration of active Rubisco sites was assumed to be invariable at 25 μmol m−2 for all species and environmental conditions. The values used for the Rubisco kinetic parameters (kcatc, Γ*, and Kcair) are those shown in Table I and Supplemental Table S1.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Badger MR. (1980) Kinetic properties of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase from Anabaena variabilis. Arch Biochem Biophys 201: 247–254 - PubMed
    1. Badger MR, Collatz GJ (1977) Studies on the kinetic mechanism of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase and oxygenase reactions, with particular reference to the effect of temperature on kinetic parameters. Carnegie Inst Wash Year Book 76: 355–361
    1. Balaguer L, Afif D, Dizengremel P, Dreyer E (1996) Specificity factor of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase of Quercus robur. Plant Physiol Biochem 34: 879–883
    1. Bermúdez MA, Galmés J, Moreno I, Mullineaux PM, Gotor C, Romero LC (2012) Photosynthetic adaptation to length of day is dependent on S-sulfocysteine synthase activity in the thylakoid lumen. Plant Physiol 160: 274–288 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bernacchi CJ, Portis AR, Nakano H, von Caemmerer S, Long SP (2002) Temperature response of mesophyll conductance: implications for the determination of Rubisco enzyme kinetics and for limitations to photosynthesis in vivo. Plant Physiol 130: 1992–1998 - PMC - PubMed

Publication types