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

光合藻类修复了全球约50%的二氧化碳，但我们对驱动这一过程的分子机制的理解是有限的。在基因水平上深入了解藻类固定二氧化碳具有很大的潜力，可以加强光合作用，改善生物碳捕获，推动未来的碳中和经济，提高作物产量，确保粮食安全。这个多学科项目将使用显微镜的尖端方法，机器人技术和合成生物学，使我们对藻类中CO2固定的理解迅速进步，并为未来的工程努力提供知识和工具，以增加作物产量和生物基碳捕获系统。几乎所有的藻类都进化出一种称为CO2浓缩机制（CCM）的光合涡轮增压器。通过增加其附近的底物CO2的水平来增加主要碳固定酶Rubisco的效率。将CCM工程化到未能进化出CCM的作物中，如水稻和小麦，预计产量将增加60%。该项目产生的数据将使我们对原核和真核藻类中的CO2固定有前所未有的了解。这些数据随后将指导第一个试管CO2浓缩系统的组装，该系统将作为测试不同组件的平台（即蛋白质）和优化组件组合，使CCM工程到植物中。为了实现我们的目标，我们将系统地确定CCM组件和两个进化不同的藻类的调节机制，这是全球CO2固定的基础，真核硅藻和原核蓝藻。我们将使用这些数据来确定有效固定CO2的基本原理，并提供知识和分子工具包来设计合成CCM。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，以提供对蓝藻CO2固定的新见解。2）使用高通量基因编辑和蛋白质定位方法识别知之甚少的硅藻CCM的核心组分。3)建立一个合成的CO2固定系统，以指导植物增强光合作用的工程。总之，我预计这些数据将为未来CCM增强光合作用的工程努力铺平道路。

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.