Rubisco Activase: Structure, Expression And Regulation Role

Ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) activase uses the energy from ATP hydrolysis to remove tight binding inhibitors from Rubisco, thus playing a key role in regulating photosynthesis in plants. Being one of the most common enzymes in the nature Rubisco activase activates Rubisco, which is the catalizator of the primary reaction of CO2 assimilation and plays an important role in the regulation of plant growth. The review provides information on the role of Rubisco activase in the recovery of Rubisco catalytic activity, structural and functional composition of the enzyme, duirnal changes of the gen expression and protein amount as well as regulation mechanisms under stress. The possible role of Rubisco activase in increasing photosynthetic efficiency to improve plant productivity has also been discussed.