In the researchers’ eyes, that made photorespiration a priority in the quest for more climate-resilient crops.

Plants then have to use a large amount of energy to metabolize the toxic byproduct caused by photorespiration (glycolate). Energy that could have been used for greater growth.

Researchers from the EU-funded Gain4Crops project have now succeeded in developing a solution that connects photorespiration and C4 metabolism, two of the main targets for improving crop yield.

A new chemical road map for a process called photorespiration in plant cells could reduce energy waste to increase plant productivity.

Plants then have to use a large amount of energy to metabolize the toxic byproduct caused by photorespiration (glycolate). Energy that could have been used for greater growth.

The paper, by Paul South at United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service in Urbana, IL, and colleagues was titled, "Synthetic glycolate metabolism pathways stimulate crop ...

The paper "Bile acid sodium symporter BASS6 can transport glycolate and is involved in photorespiratory metabolism in Arabidopsis thaliana " is published by Plant Cell (DOI: 10.1105/tpc.16.00775).

They converted a molecule called glycolate, which is produced via photorespiration, to CO 2 using three rice enzymes: glycolate oxidase, oxalate oxidase, and catalase.

New research has uncovered genetic modifications, altering the photorespiration pathway, that could improve crop yields by 40%. New research conducted at the University of Illinois (IL, USA) and led ...

These direct manipulations of photorespiration are crucial targets for future crop improvement. Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide from fossil fuel consumption boosts photosynthesis, allowing ...