How microalgae conserve carbon.

Fatty acid biosynthesis and photosynthesis are major chloroplast pathways utilizing inorganic carbon (Ci). To optimize photosynthesis, microalgae use CO2-concentrating mechanisms (CCMs). Recently, You et al. demonstrated that CCM and fatty acid synthase (FAS) are functionally linked through spatial proximity between carbonic anhydrase (CAH) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), with this crosstalk being spatially and temporally dynamic, responding to environmental CO2 levels.