View
134
Download
0
Category
Preview:
Citation preview
Course Seminaron
Conversion Of C3 To C4 Plants
Supervisor: Prof. R. K. Singh
Presented by:Dilruba A BanoID No: G-12092
Department of Genetics and Plant BreedingInstitute of Agricultural Sciences
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
2
Photosynthesis
3
Introduction
C3 plantsPlants that produces the 3 carbon
compound phosphoglyceric acid at
the first stage of photosynthesis
C4 plants Plants in which the CO2 is first fixed into a compound containing 4 carbon atom before entering the Calvin cycle of photosynthesis
4
C3 Plants
Most of our conventional crops, assimilate
atmospheric CO2 by the C3 pathway of
photosynthesis. Photosynthetically, these plants are
underachievers because, on the one hand, they
assimilate atmospheric CO2 into sugars but, on the
other hand, part of the potential for sugar
production is lost by respiration in daylight,
releasing CO2 into the atmosphere, a wasteful
process termed as photorespiration.
5
This is due to the dual function of the key
photosynthetic enzyme , ribulose 1,5-
bisphosphate carboxylase / oxygenase
(Rubisco).
CO2 favours the carboxylase reaction and thus
net photosynthesis; whereas high O2 promotes
the oxygenase reaction leading to
photorespiration.
CONTD...
6
Photorespiration When Rubisco reacts with O2 instead of CO2
Occurs under the following conditions:– High O2 concentrations– High heat
Photorespiration is estimated to reduce photosynthetic efficiency by 25%
At high temperature, plants close their stomata to conserve water
They continue to do photosynthesis use up CO2 and produce O2 creates high O2 concentrations inside the plant photorespiration occurs
7
C3 to C4 Plants
When plants first evolved, photorespiration was not a problem because the atmosphere then was high in CO2 and low in O2.
As a by-product of photosynthesis, O2 accumulated in the atmosphere and reached the present level a million years ago.
Current atmospheric CO2 levels limit photosynthesis in C3 plants. Furthermore, photorespiration reduces net carbon gain and productivity of C3 plants by as much as 40%.
8
With modifications in leaf anatomy, some tropical
species (e.g., maize and sugarcane) have evolved
a biochemical “CO2 pump”, the C4 pathway of
photosynthesis, to concentrate atmospheric CO2
in the leaf and thus overcome photorespiration.
C4 plants thus exhibit many desirable agronomic
traits: high rate of photosynthesis, fast growth
and high efficiency in water and mineral use.
Contd….
9
10
C4 Plants 1. C4 species have greater rate of CO2 assimilation
than C3 species
a. PEP carboxylase has great affinity for CO2
b. C4 plant show little photorespiration as compared
to C3 plant resulting production of dry matter
2. C4 plants are more adapted to environmental
stress than C3 plants.
3. CO2 fixation require more ATP than C3 plants.
11
How does the C4 Pathway limit photorespiration?
Bundle sheath cells are far from the surface–
less O2 access
PEP Carboxylase doesn’t have an affinity for
O2 allows plant to collect a lot of CO2 and
concentrate it in the bundle sheath cells.
(where Rubisco is)
12
Differences between C3 & C4 cycle
Character C3 plant C4 plant
CO2 acceptor First CO2 acceptor is
Ribulose 1,5
diphosphate
First CO2 acceptor is
phosphoenol
pyruvate (PEP)
First stable
product
Phosphoglyceric acid Oxaloacetate (OAA)
Type of
chloroplast
One type Dimorphic chloroplast
are present in which
kranz anatomy
found
13
Optimum
temperature
for process
10-250C 30-450C
CO2 compensation
point
50-150ppm 0-10ppm.
Photorespiration Present and easily
detectable
Absent or present
to a slight degree
Contd.
14
Examples
C3 – Rice, wheat, potato, sugar beet.
C4 – sugarcane, maize and sorghum.
15
C4 discovered by M.D. Hatch & C.R. Slack
C3 cycle (Calvin & Benson cycle)
16
Net Photosynthetic rate V/S light Intensity
16 16
17
Quantum yield of photosynthesis with increase in temperature
18
Engineering for C4 traits
There are no closely related C3 and C4 crops that
we can use to transfer the C4 traits to C3 crops by
a traditional breeding approach. Thus genetic engineering is the best alternative.
In engineering C4 photosynthesis, there are two
important components to be considered:
1. Specialized leaf structure
2. Biochemical pathway (enzymes)
19
Our first goal is to engineer the key enzymes
involved in C4 photosynthesis without
manipulating Kranz leaf anatomy.
Identification of single cell C4 system
in Hydrilla sp. and terrestrial chenopods such
as Borszczowia aralocaspica, where all the
C4 photosynthetic features are present without
Kranz anatomy and it is considered that
development of C4 cycle is possible in the
single cell type.
Cont….
20
Why this is needed?
Reduce Global warming
Increase photosynthesis rate
Increase light use efficiency
Increase water use efficiency
21
C4 RicePEPC and PPDK transgenic rice plants exhibit higher photosynthetic capacity than untransformed plants, mainly due to an increased stomatal conductance (i.e., more atmospheric CO2 becomes available for fixation).
Preliminary field trials show 10-30% and 30-35% increases in grain yield for PEPC and PPDK transgenic rice plants, respectively.
The activities of PEP carboxylase in leaves of some of these transgenic rice plants were two- to threefold higher even than those in maize.
22
Increased synthesis of organic solutes (e.g., malate) by the enzymes in the guard cells may be responsible for the enhanced conductance of CO2
by the stomates.
C4 cycle-related genes have been introduced into rice including PEPC, pyruvate orthophosphate dikinase (PPDK) gene, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) gene, NADPmalic enzyme gene (ME) gene and NADPmalate dehydrogenase (MDH) gene.
Cont…
23
Introduction of C4 genes in rice from various crops
Maize
PEPC
PPDK
NADP – Malic enzyme (ME) Echinochloa - PPDK Sorghum – MDH Urochloa panicoides - PCK
Methods Employed for gene transfer
• Agro-bacterium mediated transformation
• Biolistic transformation
24
25
Procedure for engineering indica rice expressing pepc gene from maize using biolistic transformation
1. Plasmid construct, plant material, transformation and in vitro culture
2. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Southern blot analysis
3. Total RNA isolation and Northern blot analysis
4. Western blotting
5. Measurement of photosynthesis and agronomic data
26
Schematic diagram of the intact maize pepc gene.
27
Transgenic plants showing normal phenotype and good seed setting like control plants.
28
Achievement in Rice crop Converting the photosynthesis of rice from the less-
efficient C3 to C4 form would increase yields by 50%.
In countries where billions of poor people depend on
rice as their staple food, benefits of such an
improvement would be immense in the face of
increasing world population, increasing food prices
and decreasing natural resources.
29
Limitations
The commercialization of transgenic rice is still difficult in the present times.
Although over expressing these C4 -related genes in rice showed diverse effects, it is still far from the purpose of increasing the yield greatly, and even lead to severe negative effects.
C4 rice research is very laborious due to huge distances of antimony and genetics between C3 and C4 plants.
Although some changes in photosynthetic characteristics have been recorded in transgenics with respect to the nontransformants but no significant direct increase of photosynthesis rate was recorded apart from some alteration in stomatal conductance.
30
Future Prospects
Currently, CO2 levels are rising at slightly less than 2 ppm per year. If we take for granted they will raise over the next 50 years by an average of 3 ppm per year, then the atmospheric CO2 level will be 520 ppm by 2050. This may not be high enough to allow for C3 plants to yield more than C4 plants, even with C3 plants that are adapted to higher CO2
Hence engineering a C4 plant would be beneficial to meet production goals within the next half-century.
31
Conclusion C4 plants are more productive than C3 plants when they are grown
under their respective optimum conditions.
C4 plants exhibit higher water and nitrogen use efficiencies compared to C3 plants, which results in an increased dry matter production.
Concentrating CO2 at the site of Rubisco allow engineered C3 plants to reduce stomatal conductance under drought conditions without a dramatic decline in the rate of CO2 assimilation.
This allows both the use of new areas for crop production required for feeding the growing world population and the reduction of inputs into the system (such as fertilizers) and also conserving natural resources. These factors are much more relevant to today’s necessities than the mere increase in biomass production.
More work is needed in order to convert the less efficient C3 to more efficient C4 plants.
32
Recommended