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PMID: 34842138 Published · epublish English Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Expression of a CO2-permeable aquaporin enhances mesophyll conductance in the C4 species Setaria viridis.

eLife ·Vol. 10 ·2021-00-29

Ermakova M, Osborn H, Groszmann M, Bala S, Bowerman A, McGaughey S, Byrt C, Alonso-Cantabrana H, Tyerman S, Furbank RT, Sharwood RE, von Caemmerer S

Abstract

A fundamental limitation of photosynthetic carbon fixation is the availability of CO2. In C4 plants, primary carboxylation occurs in mesophyll cytosol, and little is known about the role of CO2 diffusion in facilitating C4 photosynthesis. We have examined the expression, localization, and functional role of selected plasma membrane intrinsic aquaporins (PIPs) from Setaria italica (foxtail millet) and discovered that SiPIP2;7 is CO2-permeable. When ectopically expressed in mesophyll cells of Setaria viridis (green foxtail), SiPIP2;7 was localized to the plasma membrane and caused no marked changes in leaf biochemistry. Gas exchange and C18O16O discrimination measurements revealed that targeted expression of SiPIP2;7 enhanced the conductance to CO2 diffusion from the intercellular airspace to the mesophyll cytosol. Our results demonstrate that mesophyll conductance limits C4 photosynthesis at low pCO2 and that SiPIP2;7 is a functional CO2 permeable aquaporin that can improve CO2 diffusion at the airspace/mesophyll interface and enhance C4 photosynthesis.

Keywords
S. cerevisiae Setaria italica Setaria viridis aquaporin c4 photosynthesis co2 diffusion mesophyll conductance plant biology xenopus
MeSH Terms
Aquaporins/metabolism Carbon Dioxide/chemistry Diffusion Mesophyll Cells/physiology Photosynthesis/physiology Plant Leaves/metabolism Setaria Plant/metabolism
Chemicals
Aquaporins Carbon Dioxide
Authors & Affiliations
12 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Ermakova Maria ORCID
Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, Division of Plant Science, Research School of Biology, Canberra, Australia.
Osborn Hannah
Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, Division of Plant Science, Research School of Biology, Canberra, Australia.
Groszmann Michael ORCID
Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, Division of Plant Science, Research School of Biology, Canberra, Australia.
Bala Soumi
Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, Division of Plant Science, Research School of Biology, Canberra, Australia.
Bowerman Andrew ORCID
Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, Division of Plant Science, Research School of Biology, Canberra, Australia.
McGaughey Samantha ORCID
Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, Division of Plant Science, Research School of Biology, Canberra, Australia.
Byrt Caitlin ORCID
Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, Division of Plant Science, Research School of Biology, Canberra, Australia.
Alonso-Cantabrana Hugo ORCID
Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, Division of Plant Science, Research School of Biology, Canberra, Australia.
Tyerman Steve ORCID
ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, School of Agriculture Food and Wine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
Furbank Robert T ORCID
Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, Division of Plant Science, Research School of Biology, Canberra, Australia.
Sharwood Robert E ORCID
Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, Division of Plant Science, Research School of Biology, Canberra, Australia. | Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, Australia.
von Caemmerer Susanne ORCID
Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, Division of Plant Science, Research School of Biology, Canberra, Australia.
Conflict of Interest

ME, HO, MG, SB, AB, SM, CB, HA, ST, RF, RS, Sv No competing interests declared

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Article Info
Journal
eLife
Abbr.
Elife
ISSN
2050-084X
DOI
10.7554/eLife.70095
Published
2021-00-29
Epub
2021-00-29
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
101579614
PMCID
PMC8648302
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.7554/eLife.70095 PMC Full Text View journal details
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