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      Photosynthesis at the forefront of a sustainable life

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          Abstract

          The development of a sustainable bio-based economy has drawn much attention in recent years, and research to find smart solutions to the many inherent challenges has intensified. In nature, perhaps the best example of an authentic sustainable system is oxygenic photosynthesis. The biochemistry of this intricate process is empowered by solar radiation influx and performed by hierarchically organized complexes composed by photoreceptors, inorganic catalysts, and enzymes which define specific niches for optimizing light-to-energy conversion. The success of this process relies on its capability to exploit the almost inexhaustible reservoirs of sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to transform photonic energy into chemical energy such as stored in adenosine triphosphate. Oxygenic photosynthesis is responsible for most of the oxygen, fossil fuels, and biomass on our planet. So, even after a few billion years of evolution, this process unceasingly supports life on earth, and probably soon also in outer-space, and inspires the development of enabling technologies for a sustainable global economy and ecosystem. The following review covers some of the major milestones reached in photosynthesis research, each reflecting lasting routes of innovation in agriculture, environmental protection, and clean energy production.

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          Phosphorus acquisition and use: critical adaptations by plants for securing a nonrenewable resource

          Phosphorus (P) is limiting for crop yield on > 30% of the world's arable land and, by some estimates, world resources of inexpensive P may be depleted by 2050. Improvement of P acquisition and use by plants is critical for economic, humanitarian and environmental reasons. Plants have evolved a diverse array of strategies to obtain adequate P under limiting conditions, including modifications to root architecture, carbon metabolism and membrane structure, exudation of low molecular weight organic acids, protons and enzymes, and enhanced expression of the numerous genes involved in low-P adaptation. These adaptations may be less pronounced in mycorrhizal-associated plants. The formation of cluster roots under P-stress by the nonmycorrhizal species white lupin (Lupinus albus), and the accompanying biochemical changes exemplify many of the plant adaptations that enhance P acquisition and use. Physiological, biochemical, and molecular studies of white lupin and other species response to P-deficiency have identified targets that may be useful for plant improvement. Genomic approaches involving identification of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) found under low-P stress may also yield target sites for plant improvement. Interdisciplinary studies uniting plant breeding, biochemistry, soil science, and genetics under the large umbrella of genomics are prerequisite for rapid progress in improving nutrient acquisition and use in plants. Contents I. Introduction 424 II. The phosphorus conundrum 424 III. Adaptations to low P 424 IV. Uptake of P 424 V. P deficiency alters root development and function 426 VI. P deficiency modifies carbon metabolism 431 VII. Acid phosphatase 436 VIII. Genetic regulation of P responsive genes 437 IX. Improving P acquisition 439 X. Synopsis 440.
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            Improving photosynthetic efficiency for greater yield.

            Increasing the yield potential of the major food grain crops has contributed very significantly to a rising food supply over the past 50 years, which has until recently more than kept pace with rising global demand. Whereas improved photosynthetic efficiency has played only a minor role in the remarkable increases in productivity achieved in the last half century, further increases in yield potential will rely in large part on improved photosynthesis. Here we examine inefficiencies in photosynthetic energy transduction in crops from light interception to carbohydrate synthesis, and how classical breeding, systems biology, and synthetic biology are providing new opportunities to develop more productive germplasm. Near-term opportunities include improving the display of leaves in crop canopies to avoid light saturation of individual leaves and further investigation of a photorespiratory bypass that has already improved the productivity of model species. Longer-term opportunities include engineering into plants carboxylases that are better adapted to current and forthcoming CO(2) concentrations, and the use of modeling to guide molecular optimization of resource investment among the components of the photosynthetic apparatus, to maximize carbon gain without increasing crop inputs. Collectively, these changes have the potential to more than double the yield potential of our major crops.
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              Wireless solar water splitting using silicon-based semiconductors and earth-abundant catalysts.

              We describe the development of solar water-splitting cells comprising earth-abundant elements that operate in near-neutral pH conditions, both with and without connecting wires. The cells consist of a triple junction, amorphous silicon photovoltaic interfaced to hydrogen- and oxygen-evolving catalysts made from an alloy of earth-abundant metals and a cobalt|borate catalyst, respectively. The devices described here carry out the solar-driven water-splitting reaction at efficiencies of 4.7% for a wired configuration and 2.5% for a wireless configuration when illuminated with 1 sun (100 milliwatts per square centimeter) of air mass 1.5 simulated sunlight. Fuel-forming catalysts interfaced with light-harvesting semiconductors afford a pathway to direct solar-to-fuels conversion that captures many of the basic functional elements of a leaf.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Journal
                Front Chem
                Front Chem
                Front. Chem.
                Frontiers in Chemistry
                Frontiers Media S.A.
                2296-2646
                12 June 2014
                2014
                : 2
                : 36
                Affiliations
                [1] 1Molecular and Cellular Biology - Unit of Microbiology, Institute for Environment, Health and Safety, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK•CEN Mol, Belgium
                [2] 2Institute of Crystallography, National Research Council of Italy Rome, Italy
                [3] 3Center for Electrochemical Sciences-CES, Ruhr-Universität Bochum Bochum, Germany
                [4] 4Division of Physics and Astronomy, Department of Biophysics, VU University Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands
                Author notes

                Edited by: Om Parkash Dhankher, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA

                Reviewed by: Amarendra Narayan Misra, Central University of Jharkhand, India; Elizabeth Lucy Rylott, University of York, UK; Bibin Paulose, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA

                *Correspondence: Giuseppina Rea, Institute of Crystallography, National Research Council of Italy, Via Salaria Km 29,300, Rome 00015, Italy e-mail: giuseppina.rea@ 123456ic.cnr.it

                This article was submitted to Agricultural Biological Chemistry, a section of the journal Frontiers in Chemistry.

                Article
                10.3389/fchem.2014.00036
                4054791
                32aa1498-b263-4f15-9b01-d93554263c98
                Copyright © 2014 Janssen, Lambreva, Plumeré, Bartolucci, Antonacci, Buonasera, Frese, Scognamiglio and Rea.

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

                History
                : 14 March 2014
                : 25 May 2014
                Page count
                Figures: 3, Tables: 1, Equations: 0, References: 277, Pages: 22, Words: 21666
                Categories
                Chemistry
                Review Article

                photosynthesis,photosynthetic yield improvement,bioremediation,biofuels,biosensors,artificial photosynthesis,sustainability,space agriculture

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