At the University of Sheffield, plant biologists have looked into what they call “the beating heart” of photosynthesis – the process by which plants live and grow.
The researchers deciphered the workings of a protein that manages the electrical current flowing between two components of chlorophyll which convert sunlight to energy.
The breakthrough makes it possible for scientists to genetically “redesign” photosynthesis by amping up this electrical protein, making crop plants both hardier and more productive.
TRENDPOST: This finding could open the way to growing bigger plants and more abundant crops at a time when arable land is diminishing and human populations, and food demand, is growing.