ALGAL COMPONENTS OF THE PYRENOID'S CARBON CONCENTRATING MECHANISM

摘要

Eukaryotic algae, which play a fundamental role in global CO₂ fixation, enhance the performance of the carbon-fixing enzyme RuBisCO by placing it into an organelle called the pyrenoid where the enzyme's activity is enhanced by the carbon concentrating mechanism. Despite the ubiquitous presence and biogeochemical importance of this organelle, it was unknown how RuBisCO assembles to form the pyrenoid. Here, molecular components of the pyrenoid, their transport to the pyrenoid as essential components thereof, and their function in the carbon concentrating mechanism (CCM) are described. Algal pyrenoid proteins and variants thereof may be transferred into cells of bacteria (e.g., yanobacterium), algae (e.g., green algae like Chlamydomonas), and embryophytes (e.g., C₃ and C₄ plants) for stable or transient (especially in leaves) expression to manipulate the assembly of the pyrenoid and its biological functions.