DECIPHERING THE EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE STRESS ON RUBISCO LARGE SUBUNIT AND ITS COMPLEX ASSEMBLY

Abstract

Ribulose 1, 5- Bisphosphate Carboxylase/ Oxygenase (RuBisCO) is one of the most important photosynthetic enzymes in determining the photosynthetic efficiencies in plants. It plays a crucial role in carbon fixation. Disassembly of large and small subunits of RuBisCO enzyme results in significant decrease in carbon fixation and photosynthetic performance. This work aims to investigate the impact of temperature (heat and chilling) stress on the accumulation of RuBisCO large subunit and the complex assembly. Hereby, pea (Pisum sativum L.) seedlings, grown at 20°C, were subjected to low (10°C) and high (40°C) temperatures. The effect of these temperature extremes was evaluated in relation to protein banding profile patterns for total cellular and chloroplast proteins using SDS-PAGE technique. The assembly of RuBisCO complex (~ 680 kDa) using Histidine Deoxycholate Native (HDN)-PAGE technique was appeared. In conclusion, this study may give some insights about the mechanism by which temperature stress can affect the assembly/disassembly of RuBisCO complex. This will increase our awareness to come up with new ways to protect RuBisCO enzyme during extreme climates and consequently save many crop losses worldwide.