Photosynthetic induction and its limitations.
New RIPE publication now out in PC&E:
Well done to Sam Taylor for leading a publication in Plant, Cell and Environment on variability in photosynthetic induction among closely related Brassica crops.
Alongside comparing these important species, Sam also developed enhanced gas exchange methods for more accurately determining photosynthetic induction and its limitations. Doug, Elizabete, and Steve were also co-authors on the study which is related to our work within the RIPE project to identify ways to improve photosynthetic induction in crops like cowpea, which are key to food security in sub-Saharan Africa.
Paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pce.13862
Unraveling part of the ancient Rubisco puzzle:
Another publication with our friends at the Shih lab at UC Davis has recently been published in Nature Plants. This work looked at an ancient Rubisco identified from metagenomics data that lacks small subunits. This ancient form of the CO2-fixing enzyme represents a novel bacterial clade and is being termed a Form I’ Rubisco, composed of 8 large subunits (L8). Congrats to the team led by Doug Banda at UC Davis, with contributions also from UC Berkeley, the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and from the Lancaster Team Doug, Martin, and Elizabete.