Understanding the molecular mechanisms that drive global CO2 fixation to improve photosynthesis

光合藻类固定了全球约50%的二氧化碳，但我们对驱动这一过程的分子机制的理解有限。在基因水平上对藻类二氧化碳固定的深入了解对于增强光合作用、改善生物碳捕获、推动未来碳中和经济和提高作物产量以确保粮食安全具有巨大的潜力。这个多学科项目将使用显微镜、机器人技术和合成生物学的尖端方法，使我们对藻类中二氧化碳固定的理解取得快速进展，并为未来的工程努力提供知识和工具，以提高作物产量和基于生物的碳捕获系统。几乎所有的藻类都进化出了一种称为二氧化碳浓缩机制（CCM）的光合增压器，通过增加其附近底物二氧化碳的水平来提高主要固定碳酶Rubisco的效率。在水稻和小麦等没有进化出CCM的作物中植入CCM，预计将使产量提高多达60%。该项目产生的数据将使我们对原核和真核藻类的二氧化碳固定有前所未有的了解。这些数据随后将指导第一个试管二氧化碳浓缩系统的组装，该系统将作为测试不同成分（即蛋白质）和优化成分组合的平台，以使ccm工程进入植物。为了实现我们的目标，我们将系统地识别两种进化不同的藻类的CCM成分和调节机制，这两种藻类是全球二氧化碳固定的基础，真核硅藻和原核蓝藻。我们将利用这些数据来确定有效二氧化碳固定的基本原理，并提供设计合成CCM的知识和分子工具包。为了实现这一目标，该项目有三个核心目标：1)为光合生物生成第一个完整的细胞蛋白质图谱，为蓝藻的二氧化碳固定提供新的见解。2)利用高通量基因编辑和蛋白质定位方法鉴定知之甚少的硅藻CCM的核心成分。3)构建CO2合成固定体系，指导植物增强光合作用工程。总之，我预计这些数据将为未来ccm的工程努力铺平道路，以增强光合作用。

Photosynthetic algae fix approximately 50% of global CO2, yet our understanding of the molecular mechanisms driving this process are limited. Deep knowledge of algal CO2 fixation at the genetic level has great potential for enhancing photosynthesis to improve biological carbon capture to drive a future carbon neutral economy and to enhance crop yields to ensure food security. This multidisciplinary project will use cutting edge methods in microscopy, robotics and synthetic biology to give rapid advances in our understanding of CO2 fixation in algae and supply the knowledge and tools for future engineering efforts to increase crop yields and biological based carbon capture systems.Nearly all algae have evolved a photosynthetic turbocharger called a CO2 concentrating mechanism (CCM) that increases the efficiency of the primary carbon fixing enzyme, Rubisco, by increasing levels of its substrate CO2 in its proximity. The engineering of a CCM into crop plants that have failed to evolve CCMs, such as rice and wheat, is predicted to increase yields by up to 60%. The data generated in this project will give us an unprecedented insight into CO2 fixation in prokaryotic and eukaryotic algae. The data will subsequently guide the assembly of the first test tube CO2 concentrating system that will act as a platform for testing different components (i.e. proteins) and optimising component combinations to enable the engineering of CCMs into plants.To attain our goal, we will systematically identify the CCM components and regulatory mechanisms of two evolutionary distinct algae that are fundamental for global CO2 fixation, eukaryotic diatoms and prokaryotic cyanobacteria. We will use this data to identify the underlying principles for efficient CO2 fixation and provide the knowledge and molecular toolkit to engineer a synthetic CCM. To achieve this the project has three core objectives: 1) Generate the first complete cell protein map for a photosynthetic organism to give novel insights into cyanobacterial CO2 fixation.2) Identify the core components of the poorly understood diatom CCM using high-throughput gene editing and protein localisation methods. 3) Build a synthetic CO2 fixation system to guide the engineering of enhanced photosynthesis in plants.Together, I anticipate the data will pave the way for future engineering efforts of CCMs to enhance photosynthesis.