Scientists Work To Make Crops More Efficient In Photosynthesis

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), nearly 3 in 10 people worldwide faced food shortages in 2022, with over a tenth experiencing severe food insecurity, reported by Emma Woollacott for BBC.

The efficiency of photosynthesis in crop plants remains far below its theoretical maximum due to the complex nature of the process.

Enhancing crop yields is one strategy to mitigate this shortage, and significant progress has been made.

However, while crop yields, such as those for corn, have tripled over the past century, so has water consumption.

"We need to increase productivity without further straining resources, especially water," says Professor Steve Long of the University of Illinois. One aspect of plant growth that has seen limited improvement is conversion efficiency, which pertains to how effectively a plant converts solar radiation into biomass through photosynthesis.

Long states that photosynthesis in current crop varieties, such as wheat and soybeans, has seen minimal enhancements over the years.

He leads a project called "Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE)," which aims to genetically modify plants to boost their yields by enhancing their photosynthetic capabilities.

The efficiency of photosynthesis in crop plants remains far below its theoretical maximum due to the complex nature of the process, which involves more than 100 steps governed by numerous genes, resulting in millions of potential combinations.

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