The metabolic and enzymatic regulation of C4 photosynthesis and its impact on photosynthetic productivity.

澳大利亚的热带牧场以利用C4光合作用途径的植物为主。全球C4草地贡献了全球约20%的初级生产力。C4植物还包括玉米、高粱和甘蔗等重要作物物种，被认为是生产生物燃料的理想物种。该项目将使用一种新的功能基因组学/代谢组学方法，为不同环境条件下C4光合作用的生化调控提供基本见解。这将有助于二氧化碳交换气候模型所需的C4光合作用数学模型的发展，并增强我们改善农业物种光合作用性能的能力。

Australia's tropical pastures are dominated by plants utilising the C4 photosynthetic pathway. World wide C4 grasslands contribute to approximately 20% of global primary productivity. C4 plants also include important crop species such as maize, sorghum and sugar cane and are considered ideal species for bio-fuel production. This project will use a novel functional genomic/metabolomics approach to provide fundamental insights into the biochemical regulation of C4 photosynthesis under different environmental conditions. This will aid in the development of mathematical models of C4 photosynthesis required in climate models of CO2 exchange and enhance our ability to improve photosynthetic performance of agricultural species.