Saturday, June 7, 2025
Germany Latest News
  • Sports
  • USA
  • Asia
  • Health
  • Life Style
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Latin America
  • Africa
  • Europe
No Result
View All Result
Germany Latest News

A new way to genetically tweak photosynthesis boosts plant growth

by The Editor
January 4, 2019
in Science
0
A new way to genetically tweak photosynthesis boosts plant growth

A genetic hack to make photosynthesis more efficient could be a boon for agricultural production, at least for some plants.

This feat of genetic engineering simplifies a complex, energy-expensive operation that many plants must perform during photosynthesis known as photorespiration. In field tests, genetically modifying tobacco in this way increased plant growth by over 40 percent. If it produces similar results in other crops, that could help farmers meet the food demands of a growing global population, researchers report in the Jan. 4 Science.

Streamlining photorespiration is “a great step forward in efforts to enhance photosynthesis,” says Spencer Whitney, a plant biochemist at Australian National University in Canberra not involved in the work.

Now that the agricultural industry has mostly optimized the use of yield-boosting tools like pesticides, fertilizers and irrigation, researchers are trying to micromanage and improve plant growth by designing ways to make photosynthesis more efficient (SN: 12/24/16, p. 6).

Photorespiration is a major roadblock to achieving such efficiency. It occurs in many plants, such as soybeans, rice and wheat, when an enzyme called Rubisco — whose main job is to help transform carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into sugars that fuel plant growth — accidentally snatches an oxygen molecule out of the atmosphere instead.

That Rubisco-oxygen interaction, which happens about 20 percent of the time, generates the toxic compound glycolate, which a plant must recycle into useful molecules through photorespiration. This processes comprises a long chain of chemical reactions that span four compartments in a plant cell. All told, completing a cycle of photorespiration is like driving from Maine to Florida by way of California. That waste of energy can cut crop yields by 20 to 50 percent, depending on plant species and environmental conditions.

Using genetic engineering, researchers have now designed a more direct chemical pathway for photorespiration that is confined to a single cell compartment — the cellular equivalent of a Maine-to-Florida road trip straight down the East Coast.

Paul South, a molecular biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Urbana, Ill., and colleagues embedded genetic directions for this shortcut, written on pieces of algae and pumpkin DNA, in tobacco plant cells. The researchers also genetically engineered the cells to not produce a chemical that allows glycolate to travel between cell compartments to prevent the glycolate from taking its normal route through the cell.

Unlike previous experiments with human-designed photorespiration pathways, Souths team tested its photorespiration detour in plants grown in fields under real-world farming conditions. Genetically altered tobacco produced 41 percent more biomass than tobacco that hadnt been modified.

“Its very exciting” to see how well this genetic tweak worked in tobacco, says Veronica Maurino, a plant physiologist at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf in Germany not involved in the research, but “you cant say, Its functioning. Now it will function everywhere.”

Experiments with different types of plants will reveal whether this photorespiration fix creates the same benefits for other crops as it does for tobacco. Souths team is currently running greenhouse experiments on potatoes with the new set of genetic modifications, and plans to do similar tests with soybeans, black-eyed peas and rice.

The vetting process for such genetic modifications to be approved for use on commercial farms, including more field testing, will probably take at least another five to 10 years, says Andreas Weber, a plant biochemist also at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf who coauthored a commentary on the study that appears in the same issue of Science. In the meantime, he expects that researchers will continue trying to design even more efficient photorespiration shortcuts, but Souths team “has now set a pretty high bar.”

science news

Related posts

Can Misinfo Harm Science?

Can Misinfo Harm Science?

February 7, 2023
Climate change: World aviation agrees ‘aspirational’ net zero plan

Climate change: World aviation agrees ‘aspirational’ net zero plan

October 8, 2022

A genetic hack to make photosynthesis more efficient could be a boon for agricultural production, at least for some plants.

This feat of genetic engineering simplifies a complex, energy-expensive operation that many plants must perform during photosynthesis known as photorespiration. In field tests, genetically modifying tobacco in this way increased plant growth by over 40 percent. If it produces similar results in other crops, that could help farmers meet the food demands of a growing global population, researchers report in the Jan. 4 Science.

Streamlining photorespiration is “a great step forward in efforts to enhance photosynthesis,” says Spencer Whitney, a plant biochemist at Australian National University in Canberra not involved in the work.

Now that the agricultural industry has mostly optimized the use of yield-boosting tools like pesticides, fertilizers and irrigation, researchers are trying to micromanage and improve plant growth by designing ways to make photosynthesis more efficient (SN: 12/24/16, p. 6).

Photorespiration is a major roadblock to achieving such efficiency. It occurs in many plants, such as soybeans, rice and wheat, when an enzyme called Rubisco — whose main job is to help transform carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into sugars that fuel plant growth — accidentally snatches an oxygen molecule out of the atmosphere instead.

That Rubisco-oxygen interaction, which happens about 20 percent of the time, generates the toxic compound glycolate, which a plant must recycle into useful molecules through photorespiration. This processes comprises a long chain of chemical reactions that span four compartments in a plant cell. All told, completing a cycle of photorespiration is like driving from Maine to Florida by way of California. That waste of energy can cut crop yields by 20 to 50 percent, depending on plant species and environmental conditions.

Using genetic engineering, researchers have now designed a more direct chemical pathway for photorespiration that is confined to a single cell compartment — the cellular equivalent of a Maine-to-Florida road trip straight down the East Coast.

Paul South, a molecular biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Urbana, Ill., and colleagues embedded genetic directions for this shortcut, written on pieces of algae and pumpkin DNA, in tobacco plant cells. The researchers also genetically engineered the cells to not produce a chemical that allows glycolate to travel between cell compartments to prevent the glycolate from taking its normal route through the cell.

Unlike previous experiments with human-designed photorespiration pathways, Souths team tested its photorespiration detour in plants grown in fields under real-world farming conditions. Genetically altered tobacco produced 41 percent more biomass than tobacco that hadnt been modified.

“Its very exciting” to see how well this genetic tweak worked in tobacco, says Veronica Maurino, a plant physiologist at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf in Germany not involved in the research, but “you cant say, Its functioning. Now it will function everywhere.”

Experiments with different types of plants will reveal whether this photorespiration fix creates the same benefits for other crops as it does for tobacco. Souths team is currently running greenhouse experiments on potatoes with the new set of genetic modifications, and plans to do similar tests with soybeans, black-eyed peas and rice.

The vetting process for such genetic modifications to be approved for use on commercial farms, including more field testing, will probably take at least another five to 10 years, says Andreas Weber, a plant biochemist also at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf who coauthored a commentary on the study that appears in the same issue of Science. In the meantime, he expects that researchers will continue trying to design even more efficient photorespiration shortcuts, but Souths team “has now set a pretty high bar.”

science news

Previous Post

T20 cricket A-Grade at Cowaramup

Next Post

Australia v India LIVE day two, fourth Test: Tourists on top in Sydney

Next Post
Australia v India LIVE day two, fourth Test: Tourists on top in Sydney

Australia v India LIVE day two, fourth Test: Tourists on top in Sydney

RECOMMENDED NEWS

Taking action against those harassing people from northeast: Centre to police

Taking action against those harassing people from northeast: Centre to police

5 years ago
Cyclone Idai: More than 750 people killed in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe

Cyclone Idai: More than 750 people killed in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe

6 years ago
Riders fall 10m from derailed roller coaster

Riders fall 10m from derailed roller coaster

7 years ago
Russia summons Dutch ambassador over hacking allegations: report

Russia summons Dutch ambassador over hacking allegations: report

7 years ago

FOLLOW US

  • 139 Followers
  • 87.2k Followers
  • 202k Subscribers

BROWSE BY CATEGORIES

  • 1xbet Casino Russia
  • 1xbet Russian Top
  • Africa
  • AI
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Health
  • latest news
  • Latin America
  • Life Style
  • Mail Order Brides
  • Mostbet
  • Online dating
  • onlyfans
  • Pin Up
  • Pin Up Russia
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Uncategorized
  • USA

BROWSE BY TOPICS

2018 League Bali United Beijing BlackBerry Brazil Broja Budget Travel Bundesliga California Champions League Chelsea China Chopper Bike Coronavirus COVID COVID-19 Crime Doctor Terawan EU France French German Istana Negara Italy Kazakhstan Market Stories Mexico National Exam Nigeria Omicron Pakistan Police protests Qatar Ronaldo Russia Smart Voting Sweden TikTok Trump UK Ukraine US vaccine Visit Bali
No Result
View All Result

Recent Posts

  • AI Girlfriends as Creative Writing Partners
  • OnlyFans Platform Analysis
  • How to Day German Fashion
  • Southeast Continental Capabilities
  • What is a Mail Order Wife?

Categories

  • 1xbet Casino Russia
  • 1xbet Russian Top
  • Africa
  • AI
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Health
  • latest news
  • Latin America
  • Life Style
  • Mail Order Brides
  • Mostbet
  • Online dating
  • onlyfans
  • Pin Up
  • Pin Up Russia
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Uncategorized
  • USA

Tags

2018 League Bali United Beijing BlackBerry Brazil Broja Budget Travel Bundesliga California Champions League Chelsea China Chopper Bike Coronavirus COVID COVID-19 Crime Doctor Terawan EU France French German Istana Negara Italy Kazakhstan Market Stories Mexico National Exam Nigeria Omicron Pakistan Police protests Qatar Ronaldo Russia Smart Voting Sweden TikTok Trump UK Ukraine US vaccine Visit Bali
Federal Government focuses on “integrated security”
latest news

Federal Government focuses on “integrated security”

by The Editor
June 14, 2023
0

Berlin (dpa) – The Federal Government is responding to the challenges of an increasingly unstable world order by means of a “policy...

Read more

Recent News

  • AI Girlfriends as Creative Writing Partners
  • OnlyFans Platform Analysis
  • How to Day German Fashion

Category

  • 1xbet Casino Russia
  • 1xbet Russian Top
  • Africa
  • AI
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Health
  • latest news
  • Latin America
  • Life Style
  • Mail Order Brides
  • Mostbet
  • Online dating
  • onlyfans
  • Pin Up
  • Pin Up Russia
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Uncategorized
  • USA

Recent News

AI Girlfriends as Creative Writing Partners

May 30, 2025

OnlyFans Platform Analysis

June 12, 2024
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact

© 2025 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

No Result
View All Result
  • Sports
  • USA
  • Asia
  • Health
  • Life Style
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Latin America
  • Africa
  • Europe

© 2025 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.