Photosynthesis: Physiology and Metabolism (ADVANCES IN PHOTOSYNTHESIS Volume 9) (Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration)

Photosynthesis: Physiology and Metabolism is the we have concentrated on the acquisition and ninth volume in theseries Advances in Photosynthesis metabolism of carbon. However, a full understanding (Series Editor, Govindjee). Several volumes in this of reactions involved in the conversion of to series have dealt with molecular and biophysical sugars requires an integrated view of metabolism. aspects of photosynthesis in the bacteria, algae and We have, therefore, commissioned international cyanobacteria, focussing largely on what have been authorities to write chapters on, for example, traditionally, though inaccurately, termed the ‘light interactionsbetween carbon and nitrogen metabolism, reactions’(Volume 1, The Molecular Biology of on respiration in photosynthetic tissues and on the Cyanobacteria;Volume2,AnoxygenicPhotosynthetic control of gene expression by metabolism. Photo- Bacteria, Volume 3, Biophysical Techniques in synthetic carbon assimilation is also one of the most Photosynthesis and Volume 7, The Molecular Biology rapid metabolic processes that occurs in plant cells, of the Chloroplasts and Mitochondria in Chlamy- and therefore has to be considered in relation to domonas). Volume 4 dealt with Oxygenic Photo- transport, whether it be the initial uptake of carbon, synthesis: The Light Reactions, and volume 5 with intracellular transport between organelles, inter- Photosynthesis and the Environment, whereas the cellular transport, as occurs in plants, or transport structure and function of lipids in photosynthesis of photosynthates through and out of the leaf. All was covered in Volume 6 of this series: Lipids in these aspects of transport are also covered in the Photosynthesis: Structure, Function and Genetics, book. Introduction....Pages 1-8 The Calvin Cycle and Its Regulation....Pages 9-51 Rubisco: Assembly and Mechanism....Pages 53-83 Rubisco: Physiology in Vivo....Pages 85-113 Photorespiration....Pages 115-136 Metabolite Transport Across the Chloroplast Envelope of C 3 -Plants....Pages 137-152 Photosynthesis, Carbohydrate Metabolism and Respiration in Leaves of Higher Plants....Pages 153-175 Regulation of Carbon Fluxes in the Cytosol: Coordination of Sucrose Synthesis, Nitrate Reduction and Organic Acid and Amino Acid Biosynthesis....Pages 177-203 Starch Metabolism in Leaves....Pages 205-231 Control of Photosynthesis, Allocation and Partitioning by Sugar Regulated Gene Expression....Pages 233-248 Intercellular Transport and Phloem Loading of Sucrose, Oligosaccharides and Amino Acids....Pages 249-274 Regulation of Sugar Alcohol Biosynthesis....Pages 275-299 Fructans: Synthesis and Regulation....Pages 301-320 Acquisition and Diffusion of CO 2 in Higher Plant Leaves....Pages 321-351 Carbonic Anhydrase and Its Role in Photosynthesis....Pages 353-367 CO 2 Acquisition, Concentration and Fixation in Cyanobacteria and Algae....Pages 369-397 Photosynthetic Fractionation of Carbon Isotopes....Pages 399-434 C 4 Photosynthesis: Mechanism and Regulation....Pages 435-457 Transport During C 4 Photosynthesis....Pages 459-469 Developmental Aspects of C 4 Photosynthesis....Pages 471-495 The Physiological Ecology of C 4 Photosynthesis....Pages 497-532 CO 2 Assimilation in C 3 -C 4 Intermediate Plants....Pages 533-550 Induction of Crassulacean Acid Metabolism—Molecular Aspects....Pages 551-582 Ecophysiology of Plants with Crassulacean Acid Metabolism....Pages 583-605

The principal aim of Photosynthesis: Physiology and Metabolism is to provide final year undergraduates, graduate students and researchers with an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of photosynthetic carbon metabolism in plants, ranging from molecular to ecophysiological aspects. The book examines how CO2 is acquired by algae and by plants and is divided into three sections. The first section concentrates on the pathways (the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle and photorespiration, with particular emphasis on the enzyme ribulose bisphospate carboxylase/oxygenase, Rubisco) and the regulation of CO2 fixation. The second section deals with the fate of fixed carbon, in chapters on the synthesis of products, such as sucrose, starch, fructans and sugar alcohols, and with the regulation of cellular partitioning of carbon, including topics such as respiration and feedback regulation of photosynthesis by carbohydrates. The last section concentrates on the various problems that plants face in taking up CO2 from their environment, and how CO2 concentrating mechanisms operate in the algae and in plants with C4 photosynthesis and Crassulacean Acid Metabolism. The ecological significance of these mechanisms is also discussed.

Fifty years ago, Melvin Calvin, Andrew Benson and their colleagues embarked on the painstaking task of elucidating the pathway of CO2 fixation in plants.