Emerging roles for carbonic anhydrase in mesophyll conductance and photosynthesis

Abstract

Carbonic anhydrase (CA) is an abundant protein in most photosynthesizing organisms and higher plants. This review paper considers the physiological importance of the more abundant CA isoforms in photosynthesis, through effects on CO₂ diffusion and other processes in photosynthetic organisms. In plants, CA has multiple isoforms in three different families (α, β, and γ) and is mainly known to catalyze the CO₂ ↔ HCO₃^- equilibrium. This reversible conversion has a clear role in photosynthesis primarily through sustaining the CO₂ concentration at the site of ribulose‐1,5‐bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco). Despite showing the same major reaction mechanism, the three main CA families are evolutionarily distinct. For different CA isoforms, cellular localization and total gene expression as a function of developmental stage are predicted to determine the role of each family in relation to net assimilation rate. Reaction‐diffusion modeling and observational evidence support the role for CA activity reducing resistance to CO₂ diffusion inside mesophyll cells by facilitating CO₂ transfer in both gas and liquid phases. In addition, physical and/or biochemical interactions between CAs and other membrane bound compartments, like aquaporins, are suggested to trigger a CO₂‐sensing response by stomatal movement. In response to environmental stresses, changes in expression level of CAs and/or stimulated deactivation of CAs may correspond with lower photosynthetic capacity. We suggest that further studies should focus on the dynamics of the relationship between activity of CAs (with different subcellular localization, abundance, and gene expression) and limitations due to CO₂ diffusivity through the mesophyll and supply of CO₂ to photosynthetic reactions.