Photosynthesis. Carbon Metabolism: Quantification and Manipulation
Two philosophies have always guided research on photosynthetic carbon metabolism. The first is based on the desire to satisfy scientific curiosity by elucidating the chemical reactions and metabolic pathways involved, and the metabolic interconnections be
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Photosynthesis. Carbon Metabolism: Quantification and Manipulation Grahame J Kelly
"And, he gave it for his opinion, that whoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together." ]onathan Swift in Gulliver's Travels, ea. 1727 This review is dedicated to Professor Martin Gibbs on the occasion of his 80th birthday
1 Introduction Two philosophies have always guided research on photosynthetic carbon metabolism. The first is based on the desire to satisfy scientific curiosity by elucidating the chemical reactions and metabolic pathways involved, and the metabolic interconnections between chloroplasts, other parts of the cell, and the rest of the photosynthetic organism. An impressive overview in this regard has just been published (Cen et al. 2001). The second is the expectation that a thorough understanding of photosynthesis might in some way lead to benefits for humanity, the most obvious contender being faster growing crop plants that provide more food and fibre. As the years and decades have passed, the pendulum of emphasis has swung slowly but consistently away from the first and toward the second of these philosophies, and is perhaps now midway between the two. In this review, the literature relating to chemical reactions and metabolic pathways is given the most attention, but it will be noted that the latest research contains few new reactions and no new pathways. Is it possible that, finally, they have all been discovered? On the other hand, the literature relating to the second philosophy is given some attention because it deals with those topics that are linking photosynthetic carbon metabolism to recurring public news items of the type that have "GM foods" and "Kyoto Protocol" in their titles. The business of genetic manipulation of photosynthesis for increased productivity of food crops has been initiated (Sect. 5), but it is wise to point out from the Progress in Botany, Vo!. 64 © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2003
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start that the potential of this business is still largely unknown. The business of quantifying the biosphere's total photosynthesis, in both today's atmosphere and a future atmosphere containing extra CO2, and of quantifying the sinks in which photosynthetically fixed carbon is sequestered on long-term scales, is also proceeding actively (Malhi and Grace 2000; Field 2001; Schlesinger and Lichter 2001), because these values are factored into the rules and calculations of the Kyoto Protocol (Schiermeier 2001). It is to be hoped, however, that readers of this review will find items that are fascinating not because of their relevance to these applied matters, but purely because they bring to light new tantalising facets of the wonder that is photosynthesis. The literature covered is predominantly that which has appeared since the las
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