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The Characterization Of Alpha-Carbonic Anhydrases Through Mutagenesis And Subcellular Localization In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Lance E. Pounds

LSU Master's Theses

Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) are zinc metalloenzymes which catalyze the interconversion of carbon dioxide and bicarbonate. It is hypothesized that CA activity facilitates CO₂ flux in leaf mesophyll cells to maintain optimal rates of photosynthesis or to maintain a pool of inorganic carbon for other metabolic processes. There are three classes of CAs (α, β, and γ) in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The βCAs and γCAs have been well studied, but the αCAs have received relatively little study. There are eight αCA genes in Arabidopsis. This study investigates which αCAs are expressed in shoots, their tissue-specific expression, their …