More information: Edward N. Smith et al, Alternatives to photorespiration: A system-level analysis reveals mechanisms of enhanced plant productivity, Science Advances (2025). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv ...

Streamlining photorespiration is “a great step forward in efforts to enhance photosynthesis,” says Spencer Whitney, a plant biochemist at Australian National University in Canberra not ...

Scientists at MIT have turbocharged one of nature’s most sluggish but essential enzymes—rubisco—by applying a cutting-edge ...

A new bioengineering approach for boosting photosynthesis in rice plants could increase grain yield by up to 27 percent, according to a new study. The approach, called GOC bypass, enriches plant ...

A study of plant stable isotope signatures suggests that the ratio of photorespiration to photosynthesis in C 3 plants has fallen by around 25% since 1900, in line with the 100 ppm rise in ...

Some plants, like rice, wheat, and maize, can combat photorespiration through a photosynthesis variation known as C4 photosynthesis. These plants engage an enzyme called phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP ...

Integrated flux and pool size analysis in plant central metabolism reveals unique roles of glycine and serine during photorespiration. Nature Plants. Vol. 9, 2023. doi: 10.1038/s41477-022-01294-9.

"Photorespiration has actually been eliminated in C4 plants," said Sage. Duplicating C4 photosynthesis t in plants that haven't evolved for it is a difficult task.

Photorespiration can cut the efficiency of fixing carbon by 40 percent, stunting the plants. Photosynthesis happens in two main stages, but only one requires light.

The full study, titled “Alternatives to photorespiration: A system-level analysis reveals mechanisms of enhanced plant productivity” is available in open access in Science Advances (https ...