Abstract
In this study we have generated transgenic Arabidopsis plants over-expressing the Rieske FeS protein (PetC), a component of the cytochrome b6f (cyt b6f) complex. Increasing the levels of this protein, resulted in the concomitant increase in the levels of cyt f (PetA) and cyt b6 (PetB), core proteins of the cyt b6f complex. Interestingly, an increase in the levels of proteins in both the PSI and PSII complexes was also seen in the Rieske FeS ox plants. Although the mechanisms leading to these changes remain to be identified, the transgenic plants presented here provide novel tools to explore this. Importantly, the overexpression of the Rieske FeS protein resulted in a substantial and significant impact on the quantum efficiency of PSI and PSII, electron transport, biomass and seed yield in Arabidopsis plants. These results demonstrate the potential for manipulating electron transport processes to increase crop productivity.
One-sentence summary Over-expression of the Rieske FeS protein results in significant increases in the quantum efficiencies or PSI and PSII, increases in Amax and has the potential to increase crop productivity
Footnotes
This work was supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (Grant: BB/J004138/1 awarded to C.A.R and T.L)
A.J.S generated transgenic plants and performed molecular and biochemical experiments and carried out plant phenotypic and growth analysis. A.J.S and L.M performed gas exchange measurement on Arabidopsis. A.J.S and L.M carried out data analysis on their respective contributions. C.R and T.L designed and supervised the research. C.R, A.J.S wrote the manuscript with input from TL.
