Improving the efficiency of Rubisco by resurrecting its ancestors in the family Solanaceae.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 35427154.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.abm6871 and PMC identifier 9012466.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC.
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Abstract
Plants and photosynthetic organisms have a remarkably inefficient enzyme named Rubisco that fixes atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> into organic compounds. Understanding how Rubisco has evolved in response to past climate change is important for attempts to adjust plants to future conditions. In this study, we developed a computational workflow to assemble de novo both large and small subunits of Rubisco enzymes from transcriptomics data. Next, we predicted sequences for ancestral Rubiscos of the (nightshade) family Solanaceae and characterized their kinetics after coexpressing them in <i>Escherichia coli</i>. Predicted ancestors of C<sub>3</sub> Rubiscos were identified that have superior kinetics and excellent potential to help plants adapt to anthropogenic climate change. Our findings also advance understanding of the evolution of Rubisco's catalytic traits.