RBCS — Nicotiana attenuata

Summary

A4A49_65499 (RBCS, RBS2) in Nicotiana attenuata encodes a RuBisCO small subunit, a component of the ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase enzyme that catalyzes the first step of carbon fixation. The gene is associated with RuBisCO assembly, the Calvin cycle, photorespiration, and the reductive pentose-phosphate cycle. It has been linked to regulation of photosynthesis, nonphotochemical quenching, chloroplast fission, and the xanthophyll cycle. Associations with traits include rubisco content, specific leaf weight, water use efficiency, quantum yield, transpiration rate, and responses to high and low temperature stress, as well as herbicide, boron, and zinc sensitivity. The product localizes to the chloroplast thylakoid membrane and envelope, and is also associated with the thylakoid lumen, apoplast, and stress granules. Studies of related genes in other species link the family to photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll accumulation, and temperature stress tolerance.