Rubisco Function, Evolution, and Engineering

Carbon fixation is the process by which CO 2 is converted from a gas into biomass. The Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle (CBB) is the dominant carbon-consuming pathway on Earth, driving >99.5% of the ∼120 billion tons of carbon that are converted to sugar by plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. The carbox...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of biochemistry 2023-06, Vol.92 (1), p.385-410
Main Authors: Prywes, Noam, Phillips, Naiya R, Tuck, Owen T, Valentin-Alvarado, Luis E, Savage, David F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algae
BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Bioavailability
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Calvin cycle
Carbon
Carbon dioxide
Carbon fixation
carboxylases
Catalysts
Cyanobacteria
enzyme engineering
Evolution
INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
Plant growth
Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate
Ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase
rubisco
Sugar
Tradeoffs
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Summary:Carbon fixation is the process by which CO 2 is converted from a gas into biomass. The Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle (CBB) is the dominant carbon-consuming pathway on Earth, driving >99.5% of the ∼120 billion tons of carbon that are converted to sugar by plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. The carboxylase enzyme in the CBB, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase (rubisco), fixes one CO 2 molecule per turn of the cycle into bioavailable sugars. Despite being critical to the assimilation of carbon, rubisco's kinetic rate is not very fast, limiting flux through the pathway. This bottleneck presents a paradox: Why has rubisco not evolved to be a better catalyst? Many hypothesize that the catalytic mechanism of rubisco is subject to one or more trade-offs and that rubisco variants have been optimized for their native physiological environment. Here, we review the evolution and biochemistry of rubisco through the lens of structure and mechanism in order to understand what trade-offs limit its improvement. We also review the many attempts to improve rubisco itself and thereby promote plant growth.
ISSN:0066-4154
1545-4509
DOI:10.1146/annurev-biochem-040320-101244