9.9
CiteScore
7.1
Impact Factor
Turn off MathJax
Article Contents
Article Navigation >  Journal of Genetics and Genomics  > 2026  > Accepted Manuscript

Design and engineering of photorespiration bypasses in plants

doi: 10.1016/j.jgg.2026.02.007
  •  

    a. Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China;

  •  

    b. Centre for Crop Systems Analysis, Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, 6700 AK Wageningen, The Netherlands

Funds:

This research was supported by the Science and Technology Innovation 2030 Major Project (2023ZD04076) and the Fundamental Research Funds for Central Nonprofit scientific Institution for Y2025YY06 and Y2025YC65.

  • Received Date: 2025-10-29
  • Accepted Date: 2026-02-06
  • Rev Recd Date: 2026-02-03
    • Available Online: 2026-02-12
    Abstract
  • Photorespiration is an essential metabolic process in C3 plants, yet it imposes a significant carbon losses of up to 30% or more. Synthetic biology has recently enabled the engineering of diverse photorespiratory bypasses to overcome this limitation. In this review, we categorize these bypasses into three major types based on glycolate carbon retention and CO2 release. The first are chloroplast-localized carbon-releasing bypasses, which shift CO2 release from mitochondria to chloroplasts, thereby establishing a localized CO2-concentrating mechanism around Rubisco. The second are carbon-neutral bypasses, which conserve carbon during glycolate metabolism, thereby avoiding net carbon loss and often coupling bypasses with nitrogen assimilation. The third are carbon-positive bypasses, which not only minimize carbon loss but also achieve net carbon gain. We also emphasize some bypasses that redirect glycolate flow toward the production of more valuable metabolites, such as amino acids and organic acids. These strategies reveal that by reprogramming glycolate metabolism, it is possible to overcome the inherent photorespiratory limitations and increase photosynthetic efficiency in C3 crops. Overall, this review offers an overview of current genetic strategies for suppressing photorespiration in model plants and crops and guides future optimization and rational design of photorespiratory bypasses.
    • FullText(HTML)
  • loading
    • References(61)
  • Agarie, S., Miura, A., Sumikura, R., Tsukamoto, S., Nose, A., Arima, S., Matsuoka, M., Miyao-Tokutomi, M., 2002. Overexpression of C4 PEPC caused O2-insensitive photosynthesis in transgenic rice plants. Plant Sci. 162, 257-265.
    Ahmad, R., Bilal, M., Jeon, J.-H., Kim, H.S., Park, Y.-I., Shah, M.M., Kwon, S.-Y., 2016. Improvement of biomass accumulation of potato plants by transformation of cyanobacterial photorespiratory glycolate catabolism pathway genes. Plant Biotechnol. Rep. 10, 269-276.
    Ahmed, N., Zhang, Y., Li, K., Zhou, Y., Zhang, M., Li, Z., 2019. Exogenous application of glycine betaine improved water use efficiency in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) via modulating photosynthetic efficiency and antioxidative capacity under conventional and limited irrigation conditions. Crop J. 7, 635-650.
    Bauwe, H., Hagemann, M., Fernie, A.R., 2010. Photorespiration: players, partners and origin. Trends Plant Sci. 15, 330-336.
    Bloom, A.J., 2015. Photorespiration and nitrate assimilation: a major intersection between plant carbon and nitrogen. Photosynth. Res. 123, 117-128.
    Bloom, A.J., Burger, M., Asensio, J.S.R., Cousins, A.B., 2010. Carbon dioxide enrichment inhibits nitrate assimilation in wheat and Arabidopsis. Science 328, 899-903.
    Bowes, G., Ogren, W.L., Hageman, R.H., 1971. Phosphoglycolate production catalyzed by ribulose diphosphate carboxylase. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 45, 716-722.
    Cavanagh, A.P., South, P.F., Bernacchi, C.J., Ort, D.R., 2022. Alternative pathway to photorespiration protects growth and productivity at elevated temperatures in a model crop. Plant Biotechnol. J. 20, 711-721.
    Carvalho, J. de F., Madgwick, P.J., Powers, S.J., Keys, A.J., Lea, P.J., Parry, M.A., 2011. An engineered pathway for glyoxylate metabolism in tobacco plants aimed to avoid the release of ammonia in photorespiration. BMC Biotechnol. 11, 111.
    Chen, G., Jin, K., Wang, J., Li, Y., Tian, X., Zhang, L., Wu, S., Yang, J., Cui, X., Sun, J., et al., 2025b. Carbon-positive photorespiratory bypass via the tartronyl-coenzyme A pathway enhances carbon fixation efficiency and yield in rice. Plant Biotechnol. J. 23, 4712-4714.
    Chen, G., Li, Y., Jin, K., Gao, J., Wu, S., Cui, X., Mao, C., Yin, X., Lu, T., Zhang, Z., 2025c. Synthetic photorespiratory bypass improves rice productivity by enhancing photosynthesis and nitrogen uptake. Plant Cell 37, koaf015.
    Chen, X., Li, G., He, H., Xie, W., Cui, L., Zhang, Z., Peng, X., Zhu, G., 2025a. A synthetic glycolate metabolism bypass in rice chloroplasts increases photosynthesis and yield. Crop J. 4, 100641.
    Chen, Z.-F., Kang, X.-P., Nie, H.-M., Zheng, S.-W., Zhang, T.-L., Zhou, D., Xing, G.-M., Sun, S., 2019. Introduction of exogenous glycolate catabolic pathway can strongly enhances photosynthesis and biomass yield of cucumber grown in a low-CO2 environment. Front. Plant Sci. 10, 702.
    Dalal, J., Lopez, H., Vasani, N.B., Hu, Z., Swift, J.E., Yalamanchili, R., Dvora, M., Lin, X., Xie, D., Qu, R., et al., 2015. A photorespiratory bypass increases plant growth and seed yield in biofuel crop Camelina sativa. Biotechnol. Biofuels 8, 175.
    Eisenhut, M., Pick, T.R., Bordych, C., Weber, A.P.M., 2013. Towards closing the remaining gaps in photorespiration-the essential but unexplored role of transport proteins. Plant Biol. Stuttg. Ger. 15, 676-685.
    Eisenhut, M., Ruth, W., Haimovich, M., Bauwe, H., Kaplan, A., Hagemann, M., 2008. The photorespiratory glycolate metabolism is essential for cyanobacteria and might have been conveyed endosymbiontically to plants. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 105, 17199-17204.
    Hagemann, M., Bauwe, H., 2016. Photorespiration and the potential to improve photosynthesis. Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol. 35, 109-116.
    Hauser, T., Popilka, L., Hartl, F.U., Hayer-Hartl, M., 2015. Role of auxiliary proteins in Rubisco biogenesis and function. Nat. Plants 1, 15065.
    Jiao, D., Huang, X., Li, X., Chi, W., Kuang, T., Zhang, Q., Ku, M.S.B., Cho, D., 2002. Photosynthetic characteristics and tolerance to photo-oxidation of transgenic rice expressing C4 photosynthesis enzymes. Photosynth. Res. 72, 85-93.
    Kebeish, R., Niessen, M., Thiruveedhi, K., Bari, R., Hirsch, H.-J., Rosenkranz, R., Stabler, N., Schonfeld, B., Kreuzaler, F., Peterhansel, C., 2007. Chloroplastic photorespiratory bypass increases photosynthesis and biomass production in Arabidopsis thaliana. Nat. Biotechnol. 25, 593-599.
    Lin, X., Long, Y., Yao, Z., Shen, B., Lin, M., Zhong, X., Chen, X., Li, X., Zhu, G., Zhang, Z., et al., 2025. Synthetic photorespiratory bypass more stably increases potato yield per plant by improving photosynthesis. Plant Biotechnol. J. 23, 2526-2536.
    Long, S.P., Marshall-Colon, A., Zhu, X.-G., 2015. Meeting the global food demand of the future by engineering crop photosynthesis and yield potential. Cell 161, 56-66.
    Long, S.P., Zhu, X.-G., Naidu, S.L., Ort, D.R., 2006. Can improvement in photosynthesis increase crop yields? Plant Cell Environ. 29, 315-330.
    Lopez-Calcagno, P.E., Fisk, S., Brown, K.L., Bull, S.E., South, P.F., Raines, C.A., 2019. Overexpressing the H-protein of the glycine cleavage system increases biomass yield in glasshouse and field-grown transgenic tobacco plants. Plant Biotechnol. J. 17, 141-151.
    Lou, H., Li, S., Shi, Z., Zou, Y., Zhang, Y., Huang, X., Yang, D., Yang, Y., Li, Z., Xu, C., 2025. Engineering source-sink relations by prime editing confers heat-stress resilience in tomato and rice. Cell 188, 530-549.
    Lu, K.-J., Hsu, C.-W., Jane, W.-N., Peng, M.-H., Chou, Y.-W., Huang, P.-H., Yeh, K.-C., Wu, S.-H., Liao, J.C., 2025. Dual-cycle CO2 fixation enhances growth and lipid synthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. Science 389, eadp3528.
    Maier, A., Fahnenstich, H., Von Caemmerer, S., Engqvist, M.K., Weber, A.P.M., Flugge, U.-I., Maurino, V.G., 2012. Transgenic introduction of a glycolate oxidative cycle into A. thaliana chloroplasts leads to growth improvement. Front. Plant Sci. 3, 38.
    Mo, B., Chen, X., Yang, J., Chen, L., Guo, W., Wu, S., Peng, X., Zhang, Z., 2025. Engineering of photorespiration-dependent glycine betaine biosynthesis improves photosynthetic carbon fixation and panicle architecture in rice. J. Integr. Plant Biol. 67, 979-992.
    Nolke, G., Houdelet, M., Kreuzaler, F., Peterhansel, C., Schillberg, S., 2014. The expression of a recombinant glycolate dehydrogenase polyprotein in potato (Solanum tuberosum) plastids strongly enhances photosynthesis and tuber yield. Plant Biotechnol. J. 12, 734-742.
    Ort, D.R., Merchant, S.S., Alric, J., Barkan, A., Blankenship, R.E., Bock, R., Croce, R., Hanson, M.R., Hibberd, J.M., Long, S.P., et al., 2015. Redesigning photosynthesis to sustainably meet global food and bioenergy demand. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 112, 8529-8536.
    Peterhansel, C., Blume, C., Offermann, S., 2013. Photorespiratory bypasses: how can they work? J. Exp. Bot. 64, 709-715.
    Pick, T.R., Brautigam, A., Schulz, M.A., Obata, T., Fernie, A.R., Weber, A.P.M., 2013. PLGG1, a plastidic glycolate glycerate transporter, is required for photorespiration and defines a unique class of metabolite transporters. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 110, 3185-3190.
    Pracharoenwattana, I., Cornah, J.E., Smith, S.M., 2007. Arabidopsis peroxisomal malate dehydrogenase functions in beta-oxidation but not in the glyoxylate cycle. Plant J. 50, 381-390.
    Rachmilevitch, S., Cousins, A.B., Bloom, A.J., 2004. Nitrate assimilation in plant shoots depends on photorespiration. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 101, 11506-11510.
    Ray, D.K., Mueller, N.D., West, P.C., Foley, J.A., 2013. Yield trends are insufficient to double global crop production by 2050. PLoS ONE 8, e66428.
    Roell, M.-S., Schada von Borzykowski, L., Westhoff, P., Plett, A., Paczia, N., Claus, P., Urte, S., Erb, T.J., Weber, A.P.M., 2021. A synthetic C4 shuttle via the β-hydroxyaspartate cycle in C3 plants. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 118, e2022307118.
    Scheffen, M., Marchal, D.G., Beneyton, T., Schuller, S.K., Klose, M., Diehl, C., Lehmann, J., Pfister, P., Carrillo, M., He, H., et al., 2021. A new-to-nature carboxylation module to improve natural and synthetic CO2 fixation. Nat. Catal. 4, 105-115.
    Scheibe, R., 1987. NADP+-malate dehydrogenase in C3-plants: Regulation and role of a light-activated enzyme. Physiol. Plant. 71, 393-400.
    Schwander, T., Schada von Borzyskowski, L., Burgener, S., Cortina, N.S., Erb, T.J., 2016. A synthetic pathway for the fixation of carbon dioxide in vitro. Science 354, 900-904.
    Segura Broncano, L., Pukacz, K.R., Reichel-Deland, V., Schluter, U., Triesch, S., Weber, A.P.M., 2023. Photorespiration is the solution, not the problem. J. Plant Physiol. 282, 153928.
    Selinski, J., Scheibe, R., 2019. Malate valves: old shuttles with new perspectives. Plant Biol. Stuttg. Ger. 21 Suppl 1, 21-30.
    Selinski, J., Scheibe, R., 2014. Lack of malate valve capacities lead to improved N-assimilation and growth in transgenic A. thaliana plants. Plant Signal. Behav. 9, e29057.
    Shen, B.-R., Wang, L.-M., Lin, X.-L., Yao, Z., Xu, H.-W., Zhu, C.-H., Teng, H.-Y., Cui, L.-L., Liu, E.-E., Zhang, J.-J., et al., 2019. Engineering a new chloroplastic photorespiratory bypass to increase photosynthetic efficiency and productivity in rice. Mol. Plant 12, 199-214.
    Smith, E.N., Van Aalst, M., Tosens, T., Niinemets, U., Stich, B., Morosinotto, T., Alboresi, A., Erb, T.J., Gomez-Coronado, P.A., Tolleter, D., et al., 2023. Improving photosynthetic efficiency toward food security: strategies, advances, and perspectives. Mol. Plant 16, 1547-1563.
    Smith, E.N., Van Aalst, M., Weber, A.P.M., Ebenhoh, O., Heinemann, M., 2025. Alternatives to photorespiration: a system-level analysis reveals mechanisms of enhanced plant productivity. Sci. Adv. 11, eadt9287.
    Somerville, C.R., Ogren, W.L., 1979. A phosphoglycolate phosphatase-deficient mutant of Arabidopsis. Nature 280, 833-836.
    South, P.F., Cavanagh, A.P., Liu, H.W., Ort, D.R., 2019. Synthetic glycolate metabolism pathways stimulate crop growth and productivity in the field. Science 363, eaat9077.
    South, P.F., Cavanagh, A.P., Lopez-Calcagno, P.E., Raines, C.A., Ort, D.R., 2018. Optimizing photorespiration for improved crop productivity. J Integr. Plant Biol. 60, 1217-1230.
    South, P.F., Walker, B.J., Cavanagh, A.P., Rolland, V., Badger, M., Ort, D.R., 2017. Bile acid sodium symporter BASS6 can transport glycolate and is involved in photorespiratory metabolism in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Cell 29, 808-823.
    Trudeau, D.L., Edlich-Muth, C., Zarzycki, J., Scheffen, M., Goldsmith, M., Khersonsky, O., Avizemer, Z., Fleishman, S.J., Cotton, C.A.R., Erb, T.J., et al., 2018. Design and in vitro realization of carbon-conserving photorespiration. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 115, E11455-E11464.
    Vishwakarma, C., Krishna, G.K., Kapoor, R.T., Mathur, K., Lal, S.K., Saini, R.P., Yadava, P., Chinnusamy, V., 2023. Bioengineering of canopy photosynthesis in rice for securing global food security: a critical review. Agronomy 13, 489.
    von Caemmerer, S., Quick, W.P., Furbank, R.T., 2012. The development of C4 rice: current progress and future challenges. Science 336, 1671-1672.
    Waditee, R., Bhuiyan, Md.N.H., Rai, V., Aoki, K., Tanaka, Y., Hibino, T., Suzuki, S., Takano, J., Jagendorf, A.T., Takabe, et al., 2005. Genes for direct methylation of glycine provide high levels of glycinebetaine and abiotic-stress tolerance in Synechococcus and Arabidopsis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 102, 1318-1323.
    Walker, B.J., VanLoocke, A., Bernacchi, C.J., Ort, D.R., 2016. The costs of photorespiration to food production now and in the future. Annu. Rev. Plant Biol. 67, 107-129.
    Wang, L.-M., Shen, B.-R., Li, B.-D., Zhang, C.-L., Lin, M., Tong, P.-P., Cui, L.-L., Zhang, Z.-S., Peng, X.-X., 2020. A synthetic photorespiratory shortcut enhances photosynthesis to boost biomass and grain yield in rice. Mol. Plant 13, 1802-1815.
    Wingler, A., Lea, P.J., Quick, W.P., Leegood, R.C., 2000. Photorespiration: metabolic pathways and their role in stress protection. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B. Biol. Sci. 355, 1517-1529.
    Wingler, A., Quick, W.P., Bungard, R.A., Bailey, K.J., Lea, P.J., Leegood, R.C., 1999. The role of photorespiration during drought stress: an analysis utilizing barley mutants with reduced activities of photorespiratory enzymes. Plant Cell Environ. 22, 361-373.
    Xu, H., Wang, H., Zhang, Y., Yang, X., Lv, S., Hou, D., Mo, C., Wassie, M., Yu, B., Hu, T., 2023. A synthetic light-inducible photorespiratory bypass enhances photosynthesis to improve rice growth and grain yield. Plant Commun. 4, 100641.
    Yang, X., Lu, C., 2006. Effects of exogenous glycinebetaine on growth, CO2 assimilation, and photosystem II photochemistry of maize plants. Physiol. Plant. 127, 593-602.
    Yu, H., Li, X., Duchoud, F., Chuang, D.S., Liao, J.C., 2018. Augmenting the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle by a synthetic malyl-CoA-glycerate carbon fixation pathway. Nat. Commun. 9, 2008.
    Zhu, X.-G., Long, S.P., Ort, D.R., 2010. Improving photosynthetic efficiency for greater yield. Annu. Rev. Plant Biol. 61, 235-261.
    • Relative Articles
    • Supplements(0)
    • Cited By
  • 加载中

Catalog

    通讯作者: 陈斌, bchen63@163.com
    • 1. 

      沈阳化工大学材料科学与工程学院 沈阳 110142

    1. 本站搜索
    2. 百度学术搜索
    3. 万方数据库搜索
    4. CNKI搜索
    Get Citation
    PDF

    Article Metrics

    Article views (50) PDF downloads (0) Cited by ()
    Proportional views
    Related

    Editorial Office

    Journal of Genetics and Genomics

    京ICP备09063187号-12

    No.1, West Beichen Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, P.R.China

    +86-10-64806528+86-10-64807786jgg@genetics.ac.cn

    Supported by: Beijing Renhe Information Technology Co. Ltd  

    /

    DownLoad:  Full-Size Img  PowerPoint
    Return
    Return