Engineering Crassulacean Acid Metabolism in C3 and C4 Plants.

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is a major greenhouse gas contributing to changing climatic conditions, which is a grand challenge affecting the security of food, energy, and environment. Photosynthesis plays the central role in plant-based CO₂ reduction. Plants performing CAM (crassulacean acid metabolism) photosynthesis have a much higher water use efficiency than those performing C₃ or C₄ photosynthesis. Therefore, there is a great potential for engineering CAM in C₃ or C₄ crops to enhance food/biomass production and carbon sequestration on arid, semiarid, abandoned, or marginal lands. Recent progresses in CAM plant genomics and evolution research, along with new advances in plant biotechnology, have provided a solid foundation for bioengineering to convert C₃/C₄ plants into CAM plants. Here, we first discuss the potential strategies for CAM engineering based on our current understanding of CAM evolution. Then we describe the technical approaches for engineering CAM in C₃ and C₄ plants, with a focus on an iterative four-step pipeline: (1) designing gene modules, (2) building the gene modules and transforming them into target plants, (3) testing the engineered plants through an integration of molecular biology, biochemistry, metabolism, and physiological approaches, and (4) learning to inform the next round of CAM engineering. Finally, we discuss the challenges and future opportunities for fully realizing the potential of CAM engineering.