The roles of carbonic anhydrases in photosynthetic CO₂ concentrating mechanisms

Cyanobacteria, algae, aquatic angiosperms and higher plants have all developed their own unique versions of photosynthetic CO₂ concentrating mechanisms (CCMs) to aid Rubisco in efficient CO₂ capture. An important aspect of all CCMs is the critical roles that the specialised location and function that various carbonic anhydrase enzymes play in the overall process, participating the interconversion of CO₂ and HCO₃^- species both inside and outside the cell. This review examines what we currently understand about the nature of the carbonic anhydrase enzymes, their localisation and roles in the various CCMs that have been studied in detail.