Setaria viridis: A Model for C₄ Photosynthesis

• Published in: The Plant cell Vol. 22; no. 8; pp. 2537 - 2544
• Main Authors: Brutnell, Thomas P, Wang, Lin, Swartwood, Kerry, Goldschmidt, Alexander, Jackson, David, Zhu, Xin-Guang, Kellogg, Elizabeth, Van Eck, Joyce
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England American Society of Plant Biologists 01.08.2010
• Subjects: Bioenergy; C4 photosynthesis; Corn; Grasses; Malate Dehydrogenase - metabolism; Millet; PERSPECTIVE; Photosynthesis - genetics; Plant cells; Plants; Plants, Genetically Modified - genetics; Plants, Genetically Modified - growth & development; Rice; Seeds; Setaria Plant - enzymology; Setaria Plant - genetics; Setaria Plant - growth & development; Sorghum; Tissue Culture Techniques; Transformation, Genetic
• ISSN: 1040-4651; 1532-298X
• DOI: 10.1105/tpc.110.075309

C₄ photosynthesis drives productivity in several major food crops and bioenergy grasses, including maize (Zea mays), sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), Miscanthus x giganteus, and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). Gains in productivity associated with C₄ photosynthesis include improved water and nitrogen use efficiencies. Thus, engineering C₄ traits into C₃ crops is an attractive target for crop improvement. However, the lack of a small, rapid cycling genetic model system to study C₄ photosynthesis has limited progress in dissecting the regulatory networks underlying the C₄ syndrome. Setaria viridis is a member of the Panicoideae clade and is a close relative of several major feed, fuel, and bioenergy grasses. It is a true diploid with a relatively small genome of approximately 510 Mb. Its short stature, simple growth requirements, and rapid life cycle will greatly facilitate genetic studies of the C₄ grasses. Importantly, S. viridis uses an NADP-malic enzyme subtype C₄ photosynthetic system to fix carbon and therefore is a potentially powerful model system for dissecting C₄ photosynthesis. Here, we summarize some of the recent advances that promise greatly to accelerate the use of S. viridis as a genetic system. These include our recent successful efforts at regenerating plants from seed callus, establishing a transient transformation system, and developing stable transformation.