A new Michigan State University study has identified a family of genes in cyanobacteria that help control carbon dioxide fixation.
A new Michigan State University study has identified a family of genes in cyanobacteria that help control carbon dioxide fixation.
The discovery furthers our basic knowledge of photosynthesis. It also opens new doors to design systems for sustainable biotech production.
The research is published in the journal, New Phytologist.
Cyanobacteria and plants share an enzyme in common, rubisco, which captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Carbon capture is the first in a series of reactions that turn carbon into high-energy molecules that feed the planet’s organisms.
In plants, rubisco is often blocked from working by small molecules that attach to it. In response, the protein, Rubisco activase, comes to the rescue, removing the unwanted molecules so rubisco can work again.
Read more at Michigan State University
Image Credit: Michigan State University
