Directed evolution of Rubisco for improved carbon dioxide capture and conversion

Growing plants in situ for food production during space missions can provide human crews with nutritional and psychological benefits. However, plant cultivation in space is constrained by available power, water, and physical area. Increasing the photosynthetic efficiency of plants would not only address the limitations imposed by space exploration, but also assist agricultural crop yields. We propose to use protein engineering to improve ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase (Rubisco), a key plant enzyme whose activity is thought to be rate-limiting in photosynthetic carbon fixation. By increasing Rubisco’s ability to capture and convert carbon dioxide, we hope to enable the engineering of plants with favorable traits such as increased biomass accumulation and reduced water/nutrient use in order to meet the needs of both space exploration and rising demand for food on earth.

This project aims to provide a platform for directed evolution of Rubiscos from a variety of organisms and improve the photosynthetic efficiency in plants. Additionally, this projects looks to reduce power and water use requirements by increasing Rubisco carbonylation rates, reduce Rubisco leaf protein investment to improve harvest index, and increase crop yields for both space exploration and agriculture on Earth.

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