Condensation of Rubisco into a proto-pyrenoid in higher plant chloroplasts

Nicky Atkinson, Yuwei Mao, Kher Xing Chan and Alistair J. McCormick ()
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Nicky Atkinson: School of Biological Sciences, King’s Buildings, University of Edinburgh
Yuwei Mao: School of Biological Sciences, King’s Buildings, University of Edinburgh
Kher Xing Chan: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Alistair J. McCormick: School of Biological Sciences, King’s Buildings, University of Edinburgh

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Photosynthetic CO2 fixation in plants is limited by the inefficiency of the CO2-assimilating enzyme Rubisco. In most eukaryotic algae, Rubisco aggregates within a microcompartment known as the pyrenoid, in association with a CO2-concentrating mechanism that improves photosynthetic operating efficiency under conditions of low inorganic carbon. Recent work has shown that the pyrenoid matrix is a phase-separated, liquid-like condensate. In the alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, condensation is mediated by two components: Rubisco and the linker protein EPYC1 (Essential Pyrenoid Component 1). Here, we show that expression of mature EPYC1 and a plant-algal hybrid Rubisco leads to spontaneous condensation of Rubisco into a single phase-separated compartment in Arabidopsis chloroplasts, with liquid-like properties similar to a pyrenoid matrix. This work represents a significant initial step towards enhancing photosynthesis in higher plants by introducing an algal CO2-concentrating mechanism, which is predicted to significantly increase the efficiency of photosynthetic CO2 uptake.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20132-0

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