Tuesday, November 10, 2020
11:00 a.m.
On Zoom
Evolution of C4 photosynthesis via C3/C4 intermediate stages
By Andreas P.M. Weber, Professor and Chair, Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Department of Biology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany
Abstract
C4 photosynthesis has independently and convergently evolved approximately 70 times in flowering plants. Most C4 plant species display a distinct leaf anatomy (Kranz-anatomy) and similar metabolic and biochemical features. Computational modeling indicates that C4 photosynthesis evolves from C3 photosynthesis via C3-C4 intermediate states. C3-C4 intermediacy evolves via simple loss of function mutations and causes a nitrogen disbalance between leaf mesophyll and bundle sheath cells. Overcoming this nitrogen disbalance requires the shuttling of organic acids between mesophyll and bundle sheath cells, which under permissive conditions drives the system towards C4 photosynthesis. Genetic hybrids between C3 and C3-C4 intermediate species segregate for subtraits of C3-C4 intermediacy and thereby enable the identification of key enablers by quantitative genetics. Identification of such enables is a prerequisite for engineering of the C4 trait into C3 species by synthetic biology approaches.
To this end, we leverage the power of inter-species crosses between C3 and C3-C4 intermediate Brassicaceae species to identify key anatomical and biochemical enablers of C4 evolution by quantitative genetics. This information is used to synthetically evolve the C4 trait by genome editing approaches.
About the speaker
Andreas P.M. Weber is Professor and Chair at the Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Department of Biology, Heinrich-Heine-University (HHU), Düsseldorf, Germany. He is the current Director of the Center for Synthetic Life Sciences (CSL), HHU Düsseldorf. He has held the position of Adjunct Professor of Plant Biology, Department of Plant Biology at the Michigan State University between 2007-2012. He obtained his Ph.D in plant biology at the University of Würzburg in 1996.
His main research interests are the physiology, biochemistry and molecular biology of solute transport in plant cells, the compartmentation of metabolic pathways and metabolic networks and photorespiration. He also concentrates his work on C4 photosynthesis, extremophilic eukaryotes, “Omics technologies,” synthetic experimental evolution and synthetic biology.