Researchers Report Pivotal Enzyme for Photosynthesis and Yield Improvement in Cotton

Researchers from the Henan Institute of Science and Technology and Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences reported the Molecular characteristics and expression pattern of Rubisco activase gene GhRCAβ2 in upland cotton. Their findings are published in Genes & Genomics.

Rubisco activase (RCA) is one of the important enzymes involved in the carbon assimilation pathway, and it plays a vital role in activating Rubisco, which catalyzes the initial step of carbon fixation in the Calvin cycle during photosynthesis. Studies have shown that RCA could be a potential target for genetic manipulation to improve photosynthetic efficiency and crop yield.

The research team from China explored unraveling the biological function of the GhRCAβ2 gene in upland cotton. They cloned the coding sequence of GhRCAβ2 and investigated its sequence features, evolutionary relationship, subcellular localization, promoter sequence, and expression pattern.

The results showed that GhRCAβ2 is present in chloroplast, confirming its vital role in photosynthesis. Furthermore, the gene expression was found to be impacted by various stress factors, including cold, heat, salt, drought, low potassium, and low phosphorus levels. These findings could be used to improve cotton photosynthetic efficiency and yield exposed to environmental challenges.

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