Biosystems Design to Accelerate C₃-to-CAM Progression

Area of Science:

• Plant biology
• Agricultural science
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Declining arable land and increasing demand for food/bioenergy due to climate change necessitate agricultural adaptation.
• Conventional C3 and C4 crops exhibit lower water-use efficiency (WUE) compared to Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) species.
• Climate change exacerbates water scarcity and land degradation, highlighting the need for resilient crop systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the potential of engineering Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) into C3 crops to enhance water-use efficiency (WUE).
• To review the current understanding of CAM photosynthesis molecular processes and engineering principles.
• To discuss synthetic biology approaches for accelerating the C3-to-CAM transition in crop plants.

Main Methods:

• Review of systems biology-level understanding of CAM pathway molecular processes.
• Analysis of CAM engineering principles within an evolutionary context.
• Discussion of synthetic biology toolboxes for facilitating C3-to-CAM transition.

Main Results:

• Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) species possess significantly higher water-use efficiency (WUE) than C3 or C4 species.
• Engineering CAM into C3 crops is a promising strategy to improve crop resilience to water-limited conditions.
• Advances in genomics, genome editing, and synthetic biology enhance the feasibility of C3-to-CAM engineering.

Conclusions:

• Accelerating the C3-to-CAM transition through synthetic biology is crucial for developing climate-resilient crops.
• A comprehensive understanding of CAM's molecular and regulatory networks is essential for successful engineering.
• This research highlights the potential of CAM engineering to address global food security challenges under climate change.