Calvin–Benson cycle regulation is getting complex

Oxygenic phototrophs use the Calvin–Benson cycle to fix CO2 during photosynthesis. In the dark, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and phosphoribulokinase (PRK), two enzymes of the Calvin–Benson cycle, form an inactive complex with the regulatory protein CP12, mainly under the control of thioredoxins and pyridine nucleotides. In the light, complex dissociation allows GAPDH and PRK reactivation. The GAPDH/CP12/PRK complex is conserved from cyanobacteria to angiosperms and coexists in land plants with an autoassembling GAPDH that is analogously regulated. With the recently described 3D structures of PRK and GAPDH/CP12/PRK, the structural proteome of this ubiquitous regulatory system has been completed. This outcome opens a new avenue for understanding the regulatory potential of photosynthetic carbon fixation by laying the foundation for its knowledge-based manipulation.