Cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying single-cell C4 photosynthesis in chenopodiaceae species

所有的光合生物都进行一个共同的生物过程，即光合作用，将大气中的二氧化碳转化为所有其他生命形式所必需的有机产物。在陆生植物中，有三种常见的光合作用模式，C3、C4和天冬酸代谢，其中C4植物在CO2限制条件下效率最高。长期以来，人们一直认为C4光合作用的运作需要两种称为克兰兹解剖的光合细胞类型的合作，它们在超微结构和生物化学上有所不同。这种模式最近被打破，因为发现藜科的三个成员在单个细胞内进行C4光合作用。这些物种通过细胞器和光合酶在两个亚细胞区域的空间划分，为单个细胞内C4光合机制的运作提供了新的解决方案。因此，这些独特的物种为探索单个植物细胞中复杂结构和功能极性的调节提供了理想的模型系统。

All photosynthetic organisms perform a common biological process referred to as photosynthesis to convert atmospheric CO2 into organic products essential for all other forms of life. In terrestrial plants, three common modes of photosynthesis, C3, C4 and Crassulacean acid metabolism, have been identified with C4 plants being the most efficient under CO2 limiting conditions. It has long been accepted that the operation of C4 photosynthesis requires cooperation of two photosynthetic cell types called Kranz anatomy, which differ in ultrastructure and biochemistry. This paradigm was recently broken with the discovery that three members of the family Chenopodiaceae conduct C4 photosynthesis within individual cells. These species achieve novel solutions for the operation of the C4 photosynthetic mechanism within a single cell through spatial partitioning of organelles and photosynthetic enzymes into two subcellular domains. Therefore, these unique species provide ideal model systems with which to probe regulation of complex structural and functional polarity in a single plant cell.