A molecular biologist at the Salk Institute, Joseph Swift, highlighted the significance of C4 photosynthesis in plants, which thrive in dry and hot conditions. Swift, a postdoctoral researcher, emphasized that climate change will increase the number of environments with such conditions, making this research crucial.
Swift co-authored a paper published in the journal Nature, which examined the evolution of C4 plants over millions of years. While all plants photosynthesize to produce oxygen and food, they do so through different mechanisms. The study suggests that gene editing could enable more plants to adopt the efficient C4 photosynthesis.
Currently, most plants utilize the ancient C3 photosynthesis, characterized by three carbon molecules. This group includes important crops like rice, soybeans, and wheat. Joe Ecker, a genetics professor at the Salk Institute and senior author of the paper, identified rice as a prime candidate for conversion to C4.
The C4 process enhances efficiency and drought tolerance by addressing issues present in C3 plants, such as the mixing of carbon dioxide with oxygen during photosynthesis, leading to energy waste. Additionally, C3 plants tend to lose water through open pores on their leaves.
Ecker noted that converting rice, the second most important crop globally, from C3 to C4 could potentially increase its photosynthetic efficiency and yield by 50%. Corn, a leading C4 plant, currently ranks as the most significant crop.
Natural evolutionary processes have transitioned plants from C3 to C4 approximately 60 times. However, achieving this conversion in laboratory settings through gene editing poses challenges and may take up to 20 years.
While the prospect of higher crop yields remains uncertain, Ecker pointed out that with an expected global population nearing 10 billion by 2050, enhancing food production is imperative. 'The goal is to improve the grain yield of globally significant plants to ensure food security,' he stated.
Researchers at the Salk Institute collaborated with scientists from Cambridge University to uncover the genetic foundations of photosynthesis.