Photosynthesis operating at ca. 156 TW net primary production (NPP) powers most of the biosphere and on the geological time scale has produced large accumulations of reduced carbon collectively known as fossil fuels.1 Over multiple glacial/interglacial periods photosynthesis has been the major driver of the "fast" global carbon cycle in which the production of CO2 from respiration and decay of organic material is balanced by photosynthetic CO2 reduction. Today, fossil fuel combustion and cement production have upset this balance by transferring carbon from the “slow” carbon cycle (carbon in fossil fuels and limestone) to the “fast” cycle (carbon in the photosynthesis and respiration/decay loop), which has overwhelmed the capacity of photosynthesis to control the carbon cycle.1,2 Moreover, prior to recent anthropogenic activity global photosynthetic energy flow, and the concomitant solar energy, were fully utilized for biosphere services and support. Today, there are virtually no reserves of photosynthetic capacity on undeveloped lands and limited opportunities to increase photosynthetic capacity by conventional agricultural practices to meet the needs of expanding economies and human populations. However, demands continue to be made (humans now appropriate 25+% of terrestrial NPP) and attempts to meet them result in further peril of biosphere services – an unsustainable situation.1,2 Fortunately, the efficiency of NPP could be improved in reengineered organisms and NPP could be augmented by artificial systems.2,3,4 For example, by combining the efficient biosynthetic processes of living cells with the highly efficient photovoltaic solar-to-electrical potential technology, new artificial photosynthetic hybrid constructs have been reported that open a new door to solar-to-biomass conversion.2,5 We emphasize the imperative of efficient solar energy conversion, which requires catalysts that operate at low overpotential, and describe recent progress in artificial and reengineered photosynthesis. *Similar abstracts have been used for other meetings 1) Schramski, et al. PNAS 2015, 112, 9511 2) Sherman, et al., Photosynth. Res. 2013; Llansola-Portoles, et al., “From Molecules to Materials” 2015, Springer ISBN 978-3-319-13800-8 3) Ort, et al., PNAS 2015, 112, 8529 4) Blankenship, et al., Science 2011, 332, 805 5) Liu, et al. Nanolet. 2015, DOI:10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b01254; Nichols, et al. PNAS in press August 2015); Torella, et al. PNAS 2015 doi/10.1073/pnas.1424872112

Helping nature regain control of the global carbon cycle

251st National Meeting (2016)

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