Rubisco and abiotic stresses in plants: Current assessment

Abiotic stresses are serious environmental factors militating against the production of many crops around the world. The consequence of this, is the difficulty of meeting the demands of the increasing world population. Aside from other negative effects, reduction in photosynthesis is an important feature of abiotic stresses. Abiotic stresses limit photosynthesis in a number of ways. The reduction in ribulose 1, 5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) content and activity is one of the paramount ways through which abiotic stresses affect photosynthesis. Rubisco is the CO2 fixing enzyme of photosynthesis and also catalyses the photo-respiratory carbon oxidation. The enzyme has low turnover and also copes with competitive inhibition by O2. Hence, manipulating the enzyme in order to boost photosynthesis has been the target of scientists, especially in stressed environments. Based on recent studies, the mechanism of the harmful effects of abiotic stresses on Rubisco is examined in this review. In addition, the prevalent ways through which Rubisco can be made to thrive well despite the various abiotic stresses are evaluated. This review paper also outlines practicable approaches to promote existing ways of enhancing Rubisco tolerance to abiotic stresses in order to produce more crops with higher stress resilience.