Posted: Dec 31, 1969
University researchers have carried out a study in the field of plant sciences and have made “significant advances” towards understanding the underlying reasons behind why certain crops are better at generating more yield than others.
The study outlines how smart plants could be engineered in the future to improve their productivity and yield.
The research was conducted at the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge and was led by Dr Pallavi Singh, who is currently at the University of Essex’s School of Life Sciences.
The main focus of the study was photosynthesis, a process that plants use to turn light, carbon dioxide, and water into sugars.
“There are two kinds of photosynthesis: C3 and C4. Most food crops – such as rice, wheat, barley and oats – depend on the less efficient C3 photosynthesis, where carbon is fixed into sugar inside cells called ‘mesophyll’ where oxygen is abundant,” the researchers explained.
“However, oxygen can hamper photosynthesis. C4 crops – such as maize, sugarcane, sorghum and millets – have evolved specialised ‘bundle sheath’ cells to concentrate carbon dioxide, which makes C4 photosynthesis as much as 60 per cent more efficient, particularly in hot and dry environments."
By Grace Galler
Source and Complete Article: newfoodmagazine.com
Date published: April 6, 2023
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