Institute of Biological Chemistry, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA.
Plant Sci. 2011 Sep;181(3):275-81. doi: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2011.06.001. Epub 2011 Jun 13.
Improvements in plant productivity (biomass) and yield have centered on increasing the efficiency of leaf CO(2) fixation and utilization of products by non-photosynthetic sink organs. We had previously demonstrated a correlation between photosynthetic capacity, plant growth, and the extent of leaf starch synthesis utilizing starch-deficient mutants. This finding suggested that leaf starch is used as a transient photosynthetic sink to recycle inorganic phosphate and, in turn, maximize photosynthesis. To test this hypothesis, Arabidopsis thaliana and rice (Oryza sativa L.) lines were generated with enhanced capacity to make leaf starch with minimal impact on carbon partitioning to sucrose. The Arabidopsis engineered plants exhibited enhanced photosynthetic capacity; this translated into increased growth and biomass. These enhanced phenotypes were displayed by similarly engineered rice lines. Manipulation of leaf starch is a viable alternative strategy to increase photosynthesis and, in turn, the growth and yields of crop and bioenergy plants.
提高植物生产力（生物量）和产量的重点在于提高叶片 CO(2)固定效率和非光合汇器官对产物的利用效率。我们之前曾利用淀粉缺陷突变体证明了光合作用能力、植物生长和叶片淀粉合成程度之间存在相关性。这一发现表明，叶片淀粉可用作一个暂时的光合汇，以回收无机磷酸盐，并最大限度地提高光合作用。为了验证这一假说，我们生成了拟南芥和水稻（Oryza sativa L.）品系，这些品系具有增强的制造叶片淀粉的能力，对蔗糖碳分配的影响最小。经过工程改造的拟南芥植物表现出增强的光合作用能力；这转化为生长和生物量的增加。类似工程设计的水稻品系也表现出这些增强的表型。叶片淀粉的操纵是一种可行的替代策略，可以提高光合作用，进而提高作物和生物能源植物的生长和产量。
