Scientists have improved the photosynthesis of plants for higher yields.
Making sure that all people have something to eat at the end of the day seems like a daunting task right now. However, it may soon become an impossible one given the current growth of Earth’s population. Scientists think that they may increase the yields of crops by improving the photosynthesis process.
Another agricultural revolution may be close than we thought. After scientists were able to enhance plants to produce higher yields and resist harsher conditions and various pests, now they are trying to surpass their previous success by boosting the photosynthesis process, through which plants produce energy.
Researchers published a study in the journal Science, in which they detail how they can increase the productivity of plants by increasing the levels of three proteins essential to photosynthesis. In their experiments, scientists saw an increased yield of 14 to 20 percent in genetically modified tobacco plants compared to those unmodified.
Researchers were able to identify the key proteins of photosynthesis after years of computational analysis as well as laboratory and field experiments. Their findings were based on tobacco because it can be easily modified. As of yet, scientists are not capable of determining with absolute certainty how increasing the levels of proteins in other plants will affect their yields. However, they are very confident that it will increase the yields in plants as the process they are improving is the same in all plant life.
As such, scientists are hard at work at replicating their findings in other food crops. It remains to be seen, how the enhanced photosynthesis will affect plants from which we use the seeds or fruits rather than its leaves, in the case of the tobacco plant.
The study was conducted as part of a program known as Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology located in Illinois. The research was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The research grant was awarded with the stipulation that all the improvements of agricultural products will be licensed in a way so that the technology is freely available to farmers, especially those in less developed countries.
What do you think about improving the photosynthesis process of plants? Would you have any issues with this type of plants?
Image source: Pixabay
