{
  "abstract": "Photosynthetic inefficiencies limit the productivity and sustainability of crop production and the resilience of agriculture to future societal and environmental challenges. Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) has inherently low catalytic efficiency, making it a key target for photosynthesis and crop improvement. However, introducing mutations to the chloroplast-encoded Rubisco large subunit ( rbc L), which contains the enzyme’s catalytic sites, is technically challenging. In this study, we successfully generated a range of chloroplast-genome-edited Arabidopsis thaliana plants targeting rbcL by a targeted base editor, ptpTALECD. The M309I and D397N substitutions in rbcL resulted in an increased Rubisco catalytic rate ( k cat ) without any reductions of Rubisco content, thereby enhancing photosynthetic rates and plant growth under both current atmospheric CO 2 concentrations (i.e., 381 μmol mol −1 ) and projected future concentrations (i.e., 549 μmol mol −1 ). Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structural analysis showed that the M309I and D397N substitutions, although located far from the catalytic site, induce structural alterations in the catalytic (60s) loops. Our findings highlight the potential of Rubisco engineering to improve plant photosynthesis and growth, and underscore the unique opportunities that chloroplast genome editing offers for enhancing photosynthesis and crop productivity and reducing atmospheric CO 2 levels in a non-GMO context.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Institute for Sustainable Agri-ecosystem Services, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. yamori@g.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp",
    "THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO",
    "Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan",
    "Research Fellow of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan",
    "Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Institute for Sustainable Agri-ecosystem Services, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan",
    "Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, The University of Osaka, Osaka, Japan",
    "JEOL YOKOGUSHI Research Alliance Laboratories, The University of Osaka, Osaka, Japan",
    "Osaka Universiy",
    "College of Life Sciences, Ritsumeikan University, Shiga, Japan",
    "Ritsumeikan University",
    "Osaka University",
    "Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan",
    "Kobe University",
    "College of Life Sciences, Ritsumeikan University, Shiga, Japan. h-matsu@fc.ritsumei.ac.jp",
    "Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. arimura@g.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp",
    "The University of Tokyo"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 11,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Wataru Yamori",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7215-4736"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Issei Nakazato",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5747-6064"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yuchen Qu",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0649-3147"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yukina Sanga"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5,
        6,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Tomoko Miyata",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5543-7459"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8,
        9
      ],
      "name": "Ryo Uehara",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7534-599X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8,
        9
      ],
      "name": "Yuma Noto"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5,
        6,
        10
      ],
      "name": "Keiichi Namba",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2911-5875"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        11,
        12
      ],
      "name": "Hiroshi Fukayama",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3466-8899"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        13,
        9
      ],
      "name": "Hiroyoshi Matsumura",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0361-3796"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        14,
        15
      ],
      "name": "Shin‐ichi Arimura",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9537-1626"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0ebws804tmwdk.bib",
  "cited_by": 14,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41467-026-73783-w",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "0ebws804tmwdk",
  "issns": [
    "2041-1723"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-73783-w",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1312|Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W4406023239",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC13282406",
  "pmid": "42321205",
  "published": "2026-06-19",
  "publisher": "Nature Portfolio",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0ebws804tmwdk.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:26:46Z",
      "native_id": "W4406023239",
      "source": "openalex",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-73783-w"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1312|Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms",
      "subfield": "molecular-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Chloroplast genome editing of Rubisco boosts photosynthesis and plant growth",
  "title_text": "Chloroplast genome editing of Rubisco boosts photosynthesis and plant growth",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-05T13:20:46Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0ebws804tmwdk",
  "venue": "Nature Communications",
  "versions": []
}