Multi‐Subunit Engineering of Photorespiratory Glycine Decarboxylase Refines Photosynthesis, Growth and Metabolic Robustness of Arabidopsis
6 affiliations
- 1University of Rostock, Plant Physiology Department Albert‐Einstein‐Straße 3 Rostock Germany
- 2Biological Station Zingst, University of Rostock Zingst Germany
- 3Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1 Golm Germany
- 4Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University LA1 Lancaster UK
- 5University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park Colchester UK
- 6Yunnan Key Laboratory of Forest Ecosystem Stability and Global Change, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences Mengla Yunnan China
Abstract
Photorespiration secures oxygenic photosynthesis from metabolic constraints arising from the oxygenation reaction of Rubisco in today's oxygen‐rich atmosphere. Beyond this protective function, it is vital for primary metabolism, cellular redox balance, and stomatal regulation. Importantly, photorespiration has emerged as a key target for improving CO2 assimilation and biomass production. Among proposed strategies, enhancing photorespiratory efficiency via upregulation of core enzymes has highlighted glycine decarboxylase (GDC) as a promising target, however, it remains unclear whether simultaneous upregulation of multiple GDC components would yield additive or synergistic improvements in plant environmental acclimation. Here, we systematically compared single and double GDC overexpression lines under varying photoperiods, elevated oxygen and high light. GDC upregulation consistently promoted growth across photoperiods and enhanced photosynthetic performance under high light and oxygen, indicating a severe benefit of increased photorespiratory metabolite conversion. Notably, double overexpression lines exhibited enhanced metabolic flexibility beyond that observed in single lines, supporting synergistic effects on carbon assimilation and allocation. Short‐term high‐light exposure further revealed increased Rubisco activity and efficient partitioning of carbon into sucrose and starch. Collectively, our results demonstrate that coordinated enhancement of GDC activity strengthens photorespiratory efficiency and can generate synergistic improvements in photosynthetic robustness, metabolic robustness, and environmental acclimation under stressful conditions. These findings position multicomponent GDC engineering as a promising strategy for developing crops with improved environmental acclimation capacity.
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BibTeX
@article{sun2026multisubunit,
title = {{Multi‐Subunit Engineering of Photorespiratory Glycine Decarboxylase Refines Photosynthesis, Growth and Metabolic Robustness of Arabidopsis}},
author = {Hu Sun and Yannic C. R. Wagner and Wieke‐Marie Rosenfeldt and Rhena Schumann and Stéphanie Arrivault and Guillaume Decros and Rhiannon Page and Elizabete Carmo Silva and Tracy Lawson and Wei Huang and Alisdair R. Fernie and Hermann Bauwe and Martin Hagemann and Stefan Timm},
journal = {Plant, Cell \& Environment},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1111/pce.70836},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.70836},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Multi‐Subunit Engineering of Photorespiratory Glycine Decarboxylase Refines Photosynthesis, Growth and Metabolic Robustness of Arabidopsis
AU - Hu Sun
AU - Yannic C. R. Wagner
AU - Wieke‐Marie Rosenfeldt
AU - Rhena Schumann
AU - Stéphanie Arrivault
AU - Guillaume Decros
AU - Rhiannon Page
AU - Elizabete Carmo Silva
AU - Tracy Lawson
AU - Wei Huang
AU - Alisdair R. Fernie
AU - Hermann Bauwe
AU - Martin Hagemann
AU - Stefan Timm
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/21
JO - Plant, Cell & Environment
DO - 10.1111/pce.70836
UR - https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.70836
AB - Photorespiration secures oxygenic photosynthesis from metabolic constraints arising from the oxygenation reaction of Rubisco in today's oxygen‐rich atmosphere. Beyond this protective function, it is vital for primary metabolism, cellular redox balance, and stomatal regulation. Importantly, photorespiration has emerged as a key target for improving CO2 assimilation and biomass production. Among proposed strategies, enhancing photorespiratory efficiency via upregulation of core enzymes has highlighted glycine decarboxylase (GDC) as a promising target, however, it remains unclear whether simultaneous upregulation of multiple GDC components would yield additive or synergistic improvements in plant environmental acclimation. Here, we systematically compared single and double GDC overexpression lines under varying photoperiods, elevated oxygen and high light. GDC upregulation consistently promoted growth across photoperiods and enhanced photosynthetic performance under high light and oxygen, indicating a severe benefit of increased photorespiratory metabolite conversion. Notably, double overexpression lines exhibited enhanced metabolic flexibility beyond that observed in single lines, supporting synergistic effects on carbon assimilation and allocation. Short‐term high‐light exposure further revealed increased Rubisco activity and efficient partitioning of carbon into sucrose and starch. Collectively, our results demonstrate that coordinated enhancement of GDC activity strengthens photorespiratory efficiency and can generate synergistic improvements in photosynthetic robustness, metabolic robustness, and environmental acclimation under stressful conditions. These findings position multicomponent GDC engineering as a promising strategy for developing crops with improved environmental acclimation capacity.
SN - 0140-7791
SN - 1365-3040
ER -