Photosynthesis

Abstract

For decades, discoveries have been reported in the series, The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis, including a chapter elucidating a competitive mechanism for binding and releasing sugars from lectins [1], and we present current research that further supports this mode of activity. From the inception of the series [2] and onward, the program has been based on interdisciplinary discourse resulting in achievements of the first order [3], legendary advances of the Path including publications describing the initial products of carbon fixation and with diagrammatic summarization [4]. As a result of the search for carbon fixation intermediates by feeding single carbon fragments (C1) from 14C-methanol to Scenedesmus and Chlorella, methanol was later applied to improve the growth rate of “Showa” [5]. Colonies of “Showa” were proven to accumulate in vitro concentrations of 30% to 40% botryococcenes, the highest in the field of hydrocarbon sources for renewable automobile and aviation fuels [6,7] and, as an adjunct to C1-cultivation, foliar applications of 15 Molar C1 formulated with fertilizers were developed [8] and independently verified [9,10]. Consistent with field observations, foliar C1 inhibited glycolate formation [11]; and thereafter, the application of nuclear magnetic resonance to follow in vivo metabolism of methanol identified methyl-β-D-glucoside (MeG) [12]. As a consequence of our survey of substituted glycosides, it was shown that not only do glycosides improve productivity, but they also are transported in plants from root to shoot and from shoot to root [13-15]. Furthermore, formulations of polyalkylglycoside and mixed polyacylglycopyranose (MPG) were far more potent than MeG [1].