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Scientists modify photosynthesis, increase crop growth 40%

Scientist Paul South collects samples to analyze how well tobacco plants modified to bypass photorespiration perform beside unmodified plants in real-world conditions. Plants engineered with this synthetic shortcut are about 40 percent more productive. Now, these genetic changes are being translated to key food crops with the aim to boost yield.
Photo: Claire Benjamin/RIPE Project

Researchers with the USDA and the University of Illinois have successfully modified plants to make photosynthesis more efficient, resulting in 40% more plant growth.  USDA Ag Research Service scientist Paul South says, “This shortcut that we’ve engineered is designed to focus on plants that are called C3 photosynthesis plants, and so that’s most of our fruit and vegetable crops and plants like soybean, rice, and wheat.”

South tells Brownfield the process won’t work on corn, which uses a different type of photosynthesis, but in two years of field trials using tobacco plants, he says it’s possible to use the technology to grow more food from the same plants.  “We have some ongoing greenhouse experiments right now in potato plants, which is a close family member of tobacco, and then we have some of these DNA designs going into plants like soybean, cowpea, and we’re also looking at putting this into rice and tomato plants.”

South says future research on soybeans will determine if plant maturity changes along with the increased growth.  “We want to see if that’s going to also be the case that they will not only grow bigger, but put on more seed which is the part of the plant that we’re interested in,  but possibly also that they could grow faster.”

Researchers say it might be a decade before the process is fully developed and receives regulatory approval, but research sponsors want farmers to have royalty-free access to their breakthroughs to help feed a growing population. The RIPE project (Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency) is funded, in part, by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.