Since the discovery of C4 photosynthesis and its agronomic advantages, the genetic transformation of C3 photosynthesis pathway into a C4 system has become highly desirable. The C4 pathway in a C4 crop such as maize (NADP malic enzyme (NADP-ME) C4 cycle [7]) consists of three key steps: (i) initial fixation of CO2 by

phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) to form a C4 acid; (ii) decarboxylation of C4 acid to release CO2 near the site of the Calvin cycle in bundle sheath cells by NADP-ME; and learn more (iii) regeneration of the primary CO2 acceptor phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) by pyruvate orthophosphate dikinase (PPDK) [8]. The transfer of C4 key enzymes from C4 plants to C3 plants could contribute to introducing a C4 system into C3 plants, improving the rates of photosynthesis (Pn) and increasing crop yields [4] and [9]. By use of an Agrobacterium-based transformation system, genes that encode key C4 enzymes such as PEPC, PPDK and NADP-ME have been successfully introduced selleck screening library and expressed in rice plants [9], [10], [11], [12], [13] and [14]. The transgenic rice plants have shown higher photosynthesis rates and often higher grain yield [4], [10] and [15], although opposite results have also been reported [9], [12], [16] and [17]. In addition, enzymes involved in C4 photosynthesis play important roles in

plant defense responses to biotic and abiotic stresses [4], [15], [18], [19] and [20]. However, the photosynthetic characteristics and grain yield of transgenic rice, especially under drought environments, have not been systematically

examined. Few studies have been conducted under natural field conditions and normal planting densities to determine whether overexpressing C4 photosynthesis in rice can result in a real improvement yield in terms of grain yield on a field basis [21]. Here we describe the photosynthetic characteristics and drought tolerance of transgenic rice overexpressing the maize C4 PPDK enzyme independently or in combination with maize PEPC enzymes (PEPC + PPDK, PCK). By applying different levels of water stress during grain filling, we aimed Phosphoprotein phosphatase to provide experimental evidence leading to an understanding of the mechanism underlying the enhanced photosynthesis and grain yield in these transgenic plants under drought environments. Two independent experiments (field and cement tank experiments) were conducted at a research farm of Yangzhou University, Jiangsu Province, China (32°30′ N, 119°30′ E). The soil used in the experiments was a sandy loam (Typic Fluvaquent, Etisol) with 24.5 g kg− 1 organic matter, 106 mg kg− 1 alkali-hydrolyzable N, 33.8 mg kg− 1 Olsen-P, and 66.4 mg kg− 1 exchangeable K. An untransformed wild type (WT, Oryza sativa L. ssp.