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Carbon dioxide concentrating mechanism in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: inorganic carbon transport and CO2 recapture

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Abstract

Many microalgae are capable of acclimating to CO2 limited environments by operating a CO2 concentrating mechanism (CCM), which is driven by various energy-coupled inorganic carbon (Ci; CO2 and HCO3 −) uptake systems. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (hereafter, Chlamydomonas), a versatile genetic model organism, has been used for several decades to exemplify the active Ci transport in eukaryotic algae, but only recently have many molecular details behind these Ci uptake systems emerged. Recent advances in genetic and molecular approaches, combined with the genome sequencing of Chlamydomonas and several other eukaryotic algae have unraveled some unique characteristics associated with the Ci uptake mechanism and the Ci-recapture system in eukaryotic microalgae. Several good candidate genes for Ci transporters in Chlamydomonas have been identified, and a few specific gene products have been linked with the Ci uptake systems associated with the different acclimation states. This review will focus on the latest studies on characterization of functional components involved in the Ci uptake and the Ci-recapture in Chlamydomonas.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. 2007-35318-18433 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (to M.H.S.), as well as by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    Yingjun Wang & Martin H. Spalding

  2. Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Deqiang Duanmu

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  1. Yingjun Wang
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  2. Deqiang Duanmu
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  3. Martin H. Spalding
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Correspondence to Martin H. Spalding.

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Wang, Y., Duanmu, D. & Spalding, M.H. Carbon dioxide concentrating mechanism in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: inorganic carbon transport and CO2 recapture. Photosynth Res 109, 115–122 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-011-9643-3

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