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Rubisco & Bioengineering 

Our team studies Rubisco and plant engineering. Rubisco is the enzyme that catalyses the assimilation of atmospheric CO₂ into chemical energy in photosynthesis. It is an essential enzyme for all life on earth but is also characterised by inefficiencies. Our research aims to understand these inefficiencies and exploit them towards more resilient and sustainable crop production. Beyond photosynthesis, we are also interested in engineering plants as biofactories for applications in diverse industries. Some of our efforts to improve photosynthesis and plant metabolism are informed by nature’s innovations, and in some cases incorporate engineering and synthetic biology.

Our Research

Rubisco is central to many of the projects in the team. Elizabete is an expert in Rubisco regulation, particularly by Rubisco’s ‘chiropractor’, Rubisco activase (Rca). This molecular chaperone activates Rubisco when it becomes inhibited through binding of sugar-phosphates, and is a major limiter of photosynthetic potential in fluctuating light and at high temperatures. In addition to Rubisco itself and its regulation by inhibitors, Doug’s group is working on synthetic biology approaches to improving photosynthesis like carboxysomes and installing a cyanobacterial CCM into C3 plants and applying similar approaches to using plants as biofactories.

We also work closely with other Plant Biology labs including the lab of Marjorie Lundgren, you can learn about them here.

Our science is highly collaborative, and we work with colleagues across the globe: 

 

 

Our story 

The photosynthesis team at Lancaster started in September 2015 with the relocation of two Rubisco experts—Martin Parry and Elizabete Carmo-Silva—from Rothamsted Research to the Lancaster Environment Centre (LEC, see the story here). In 2016, Steve Long, FRS, initiated a joint appointment at LEC while maintaining his position at the University of Illinois (story here). In 2018, Marjorie Lundgren joined as a Leverhulme Trust Early Career fellow investigating C2 photosynthesis. Elizabete has since been promoted to Professor and Marjorie is now a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow. In 2022, Martin Parry became Emeritus Professor, and Doug Orr and Sam Taylor started their academic positions and two new teams broadly focused on plant engineering and physiology, respectively, and continued the growth of photosynthesis in Lancaster. Steve Long sadly passed away in 2025. In 2025, our website ‘Making the most of sunshine’ saw a revamp to reflect the values of the teams led by Elizabete (Rubisco regulation) and Doug (Rubisco and Bioengineering). 

The Lancaster Environment Centre (LEC) brings together expertise in a wide range of disciplines to co-design and co-deliver solutions for local and global environmental challenges. The Plant Biology research group aims to improve fundamental understanding of plant biology and provide nature-inspired solutions for real-world problems. 

 

 

 

 

Work across both groups has or continues to be generously supported by: