In many places, climate change is expected to bring hotter, drier weather. In a recently published study in The Plant Cell by researchers from the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research and the University of Oxford, the potential for engineering drought-resistant plants via the introduction of Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) was analysed.
Hacking photosynthesis increases crop yield by 27% [Registered]
Scientists from the University of Essex have resolved two major photosynthetic bottlenecks to boost plant productivity by 27% in real-world field conditions.
Discovery of how plants avoid photodamage may lead to boosting crop yields [Full subscriber]
During photosynthesis, plants simultaneously achieve two seemingly opposite goals: they convert photoenergy to chemical energy with near unity quantum efficiency; and they safely expel excess light as heat to avoid photodamage. There has been much debate over the past several decades over how plants actually achieve this. Now, researchers from the Massachusettes Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US and the Universities of Pavia and Verona in Italy have revealed one of the possible mechanisms to achieve this feat.
Next gen biotechnologies advanced by the discovery of a critical part of the photosynthetic machinery [Full subscriber]
Researchers from The University of Queensland (UQ) and the University of Münster (WWU) have purified and visualized the ‘Cyclic Electron Flow’ (CEF) supercomplex, a critical part of the photosynthetic machinery in all plants. The discovery could help guide the development of next-generation solar biotechnologies.
Crop yields increased by 47% from stimulating photorespiration [Registered]
A new study led by researchers at the University of Essex has revealed that the output of major food crops could be increased by nearly 50% simply by boosting the production of a specific protein that is involved in photorespiration.
CO2 fixing machinery in algae could help engineer faster-growing crops [Registered]
About half of the photosynthesis on Earth is performed in the ocean by single-celled algae. Many of these algae fix carbon dioxide more efficiently than land plants by concentrating most of their Rubisco into a microcompartment called a pyrenoid.
Tweaking photosynthesis increases crop productivity by 20% [Registered]
Researchers have identified a way to manipulate photosynthesis in plants to increase their light-harvesting ability and with it, increase crop productivity by as much as 20%.
Researchers discover mechanism in photosynthesis that protects plants from damage by light [Registered]
Scientists at Imperial College London have discovered a feedback mechanism at the heart of photosynthesis that protects plants from damage by light.
They observed that the key enzyme in photosynthesis can tune its activity to avoid being damaged by light and oxygen.
Regulation of leaf temperature by plants drives carbon uptake [Registered]
A new study has found that plants regulate their leaf temperature with some independence from the surrounding air temperature, a trait that increases carbon uptake through photosynthesis. The research offers promise for refining Earth system models that help predict climate change impacts and feedbacks.
Researchers build high-tech test track to improve crop performance [Registered]
Taking a leaf from automakers who test their cars on special tracks that simulate real driving conditions, researchers at the Michigan State University have developed DEPI – Dynamic Environmental Photosynthetic […]
Monthly Snapshot
Market Analysis Raw sugar fell back below 16 cents on the New York futures market, closing on 19th March at 15.89 cents per pound from 16.13 cents on 12th March. […]
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