Cellular perspectives for improving mesophyll conductance

Summary After entering the leaf, CO2 faces an intricate pathway to the site of photosynthetic fixation embedded within the chloroplasts. The efficiency of CO2 flux is hindered by a number of structural and biochemical barriers which, together, define the ease of flow of the gas within the leaf, term...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology 2020-02, Vol.101 (4), p.845-857
Main Authors: Lundgren, Marjorie R., Fleming, Andrew J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Boundaries
Carbon dioxide
Carbon Dioxide - metabolism
cell division
cell growth
Cell Size
cell wall
Cell Wall - metabolism
Chloroplasts
Chloroplasts - metabolism
CO2 transport
Conductance
Efficiency
Fluctuations
Flux
leaf
Leaves
Mesophyll
Mesophyll Cells - cytology
Mesophyll Cells - physiology
mesophyll conductance
Parameters
Photosynthesis
Plant Leaves - anatomy & histology
Plant Leaves - cytology
Plant Leaves - metabolism
Resistance
SI Advances in Photosynthesis
Transport processes
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Summary:Summary After entering the leaf, CO2 faces an intricate pathway to the site of photosynthetic fixation embedded within the chloroplasts. The efficiency of CO2 flux is hindered by a number of structural and biochemical barriers which, together, define the ease of flow of the gas within the leaf, termed mesophyll conductance. Previous authors have identified the key elements of this pathway, raising the prospect of engineering the system to improve CO2 flux and, thus, to increase leaf photosynthetic efficiency. In this review, we provide a perspective on the potential for improving the individual elements that contribute to this complex parameter. We lay particular emphasis on generation of the cellular architecture of the leaf which sets the initial boundaries of a number of mesophyll conductance parameters, incorporating an overview of the molecular transport processes which have been proposed as major facilitators of CO2 flux across structural boundaries along the pathway. The review highlights the research areas where future effort might be invested to increase our fundamental understanding of mesophyll conductance and leaf function and, consequently, to enable translation of these findings to improve the efficiency of crop photosynthesis. Significance Statement Increasing CO2 flux has been identified as an element of leaf structure/function which could significantly improve photosynthetic efficiency and, thus, crop yield. This review highlights the challenges and opportunities of achieving this aim, bringing into focus our ignorance of some fundamental aspects of leaf developmental physiology, and identifying areas where future research investment could yield improved knowledge, understanding, and impact.
ISSN:0960-7412
1365-313X
DOI:10.1111/tpj.14656