Tobacco fieldWIKIMEDIA, ANRO0002Speeding up a plant’s response to fluctuations in light intensity can enhance its photosynthetic yield, according to a paper published today (November 17) in Science. The authors, who genetically engineered tobacco plants to react more rapidly to sudden switches between light and shade, report an approximately 15 percent improvement in the modified plants’ productivity.
“The paper is a really very nice breakthrough. It’s the first instance where it has been possible to demonstrate that, by improving the efficiency of photosynthesis, there is an increase in yield under field conditions,” said plant scientist Christine Foyer of the University of Leeds, U.K. “I would say it’s a game-changer.”
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization has predicted that by 2050 the world will need to produce 70 percent more food than it does currently. Along with improving storage, transport, and preservation of foods to minimize losses, increasing the yields of crops is seen as a primary way to insure against food shortages, said Stephen Long of the University of Illinois, who led the new research.
The problem is, “there’s been almost ...
