Role of C₄ carbon fixation in Ulva prolifera, the macroalga responsible for the world's largest green tides.

ABSTRACT: Most marine algae preferentially assimilate CO₂ via the Calvin-Benson Cycle (C₃) and catalyze HCO₃^- dehydration via carbonic anhydrase (CA) as a CO₂-compensatory mechanism, but certain species utilize the Hatch-Slack Cycle (C₄) to enhance photosynthesis. The occurrence and importance of the C₄ pathway remains uncertain, however. Here, we demonstrate that carbon fixation in Ulva prolifera, a species responsible for massive green tides, involves a combination of C₃ and C₄ pathways_, and a CA-supported HCO₃^- mechanism. Analysis of CA and key C₃ and C₄ enzymes, and subsequent analysis of δ¹³C photosynthetic products showed that the

SUBMITTER: Liu D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7477558 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature