4.7 Review

Finding the C4 sweet spot: cellular compartmentation of carbohydrate metabolism in C4 photosynthesis

Journal

JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
Volume 72, Issue 17, Pages 6018-6026

Publisher

OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erab290

Keywords

Bundle sheath cells; C-4 photosynthesis; mesophyll cells; starch; sucrose

Categories

Funding

  1. ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis [CE140100015]
  2. Royal Society
  3. European Union [637765]

Ask authors/readers for more resources

The two-cell type C-4 photosynthetic pathway requires both anatomical and biochemical specialization to achieve a functional CO2-concentrating mechanism. Partitioning of carbohydrate synthesis between the cell types of C-4 leaves shows that sucrose is predominantly synthesized in the mesophyll cells and starch in the bundle sheath cells. This partitioning may be a consequence of C-4 metabolism or a requirement for its evolution and efficient operation.
The two-cell type C-4 photosynthetic pathway requires both anatomical and biochemical specialization to achieve a functional CO2-concentrating mechanism. While a great deal of research has been done on Kranz anatomy and cell-specific expression and activity of enzymes in the C-4 pathway, less attention has been paid to partitioning of carbohydrate synthesis between the cell types of C-4 leaves. As early as the 1970s it became apparent that, in the small number of species examined at the time, sucrose was predominantly synthesized in the mesophyll cells and starch in the bundle sheath cells. Here we discuss how this partitioning is achieved in C-4 plants and explore whether this is a consequence of C-4 metabolism or indeed a requirement for its evolution and efficient operation.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.7
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available