Understanding the role of the fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase gene for enhancing the photosynthetic rate in Arabidopsis thaliana

Transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana (ecotype Columbia) was successfully transformed with the gene fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase) and named as AtFBPase plants. Transgenic plants exhibited stable transformation, integration and significantly higher expressions for the transformed gene. Morphological evaluation of transgenic plants showed increased plant height (35 cm), number of leaves (25), chlorophyll contents (28%), water use efficiency (increased from 1.5 to 2.6 mu mol CO2 mu mol(-1) H2O) and stomatal conductance (20%), which all resulted in an enhanced photosynthetic rate (2.7 mu mol m(-2) s(-1)) compared to wild type plants. This study suggests the vital role of FBPase gene in the modification of regulatory pathways to enhance the photosynthetic rate, which can also be utilised for economic crops in future.