The roles of carbonic anhydrases in photosynthetic CO2 concentrating mechanisms

Cyanobacteria, algae, aquatic angiosperms and higher plants have all developed their own unique versions of photosynthetic CO2 concentrating mechanisms (CCMs) to aid Rubisco in efficient CO2 capture. An important aspect of all CCMs is the critical roles that the specialised location and function that various carbonic anhydrase enzymes play in the overall process, participating the interconversion of CO2 and HCO3− species both inside and outside the cell. This review examines what we currently understand about the nature of the carbonic anhydrase enzymes, their localisation and roles in the various CCMs that have been studied in detail.