A synthetic light-inducible photorespiratory bypass enhances photosynthesis to improve rice growth and grain yield

Bioengineering of photorespiratory bypasses is an effective strategy for improving plant productivity by modulating photosynthesis.In previouswork,two photorespiratory bypasses,theGOC andGCGT bypasses,increased photosynthetic rates but decreased seed-setting rate in rice(Oryza sativa),probably owing to excess photosynthate accumulation in the stem.To solve this bottleneck,we successfully developed a newsynthetic photorespiratory bypass(called theGMAbypass)in rice chloroplasts by introducing Oryza sativa glycolate oxidase 1(OsGLO1),Cucurbita maxima malate synthase(CmMS),and Oryza sativa ascorbate peroxidase7(OsAPX7)into the rice genome using a high-efficiency transgene stacking system.Unlike the GOC and GCGT bypass genes driven by constitutive promoters,OsGLO1 in GMA plants was driven by a light-inducible Rubisco small subunit promoter(pRbcS);its expression dynamically changed in response to light,producing a more moderate increase in photosynthate.Photosynthetic rates were significantly increased inGMA plants,and grain yieldswere significantly improved under greenhouse and field conditions.Transgenic GMA rice showed no reduction in seed-setting rate under either test condition,unlike previous photorespiratory-bypass rice,probably reflecting proper modulation of the photorespiratory bypass.Together,these results imply that appropriate engineering of the GMA bypass can enhance rice growth and grain yield without affecting seed-setting rate.