RESULTS: Plants treated with red and blue light at an intensity of 130 μmol m-2 s-1 supplemented with 5% of UV-A light under a 16-h photoperiod produced the most desirable overall results with a high rate of germination, low percentage of early flowering, and high yields of dry leaf, stevioside and rebaudioside A, 175 days after planting.
CONCLUSION: While red and blue light combinations are effective for plant growth, the use of supplemental non-PAR irradiation of UV-A wavelength significantly and desirably delayed flowering, enhanced germination, biomass, rebaudioside A and stevioside yields, while supplemental green light improved yield of biomass and rebaudioside A, but not stevioside. Overall, the combination of red, blue and UV-A light resulted in the best overall productivity for Stevia rebaudiana. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.
METHODS: Site-directed mutagenesis and chloroplast transformation have been used to test the essentiality of these modifications by replacing each of the residues with alanine (Ala). Biochemical analyses were done to determine the specificity factors and kinetic constants.
RESULTS: Replacing the modified-residues in Chlamydomonas Rubisco affected the enzyme's catalytic activity. Substituting hydroxy-Pro-104 and methyl-Cys-256 with alanine influenced Rubisco catalysis.
CONCLUSION: This is the first study on these posttranslationally-modified residues in Rubisco by genetic engineering. As these forms of modifications/regulation are not available in plants, the modified residues could be a means to modulate Rubisco activity.
GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: With a better understanding of Rubisco structure-function, we can define targets for improving the enzyme.