Lixue Sun

Mrs. Lixue Sun


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

4Years (2023-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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31 December 2023 in Biology
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
LSLixue Sun
Lixue Sun
NLNing Li
Ning Li
YYYe Yuan
Ye Yuan
YWYing Wang
Ying Wang
Bao-Rong LuBao-Rong Lu
Bao-Rong Lu
With the increasing challenges of climate change caused by global warming, the effective reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) becomes an urgent environmental issue for the sustainable development of human society. Previous reports indicated increased biomass in genetically engineered (GE) Arabidopsis and rice overexpressing the 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) gene, suggesting the possibility of consuming more carbon by GE plants. However, whether overexpressing the EPSPS gene in GE plants consumes more CO2 remains a question. To address this question, we measured expression of the EPSPS gene, intercellular CO2 concentration, photosynthetic ratios, and gene expression (RNA-seq and RT-qPCR) in GE (overexpression) and non-GE (normal expression) Arabidopsis and rice plants. Results showed substantially increased EPSPS expression accompanied with CO2 consumption in the GE Arabidopsis and rice plants. Furthermore, overexpressing the EPSPS gene affected carbon-fixation related biological pathways. We also confirmed significant upregulation of four key carbon-fixation associated genes, in addition to increased photosynthetic ratios, in all GE plants. Our finding of significantly enhanced carbon fixation in GE plants overexpressing the EPSPS transgene provides a novel strategy to reduce global CO2 for carbon neutrality by genetic engineering of plant species, in addition to increased plant production by enhanced photosynthesis.