Rubiscosome gene expression is balanced across the hexaploid wheat genome

Caruana, Louis and Orr, Douglas and Carmo-Silva, Elizabete (2022) Rubiscosome gene expression is balanced across the hexaploid wheat genome. Photosynthesis Research. ISSN 0166-8595

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Abstract

Functional and active Rubisco is essential for CO2 fixation and is a primary target for engineering approaches to increasing crop yields. However, the assembly and maintenance of active Rubisco are dependent on the coordinated biosynthesis of at least 11 nuclear-encoded proteins, termed the ‘Rubiscosome’. Using publicly available gene expression data for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), we show that the expression of Rubiscosome genes is balanced across the three closely related subgenomes that form the allohexaploid genome. Each subgenome contains a near complete set of homoeologous genes and contributes equally to overall expression, both under optimal and under heat stress conditions. The expression of the wheat thermo-tolerant Rubisco activase isoform 1β increases under heat stress and remains balanced across the subgenomes, albeit with a slight shift towards greater contribution from the D subgenome. The findings show that the gene copies in all three subgenomes need to be accounted for when designing strategies for crop improvement.