A new study promises a bigger yield in crops such as rice and wheat with a newly discovered way to improve photosynthesis in plants.
IMPROVING PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Researchers from the University of Sheffield unlocked a critical mechanism within plants which can lead to bigger crop yields. The study shows how the electrical and chemical reactions within a plant can make significant changes in its growth.
The study, which was published in Nature, explained that these vital reactions occur in the protein complex known as Cytochrome b6f, which is the one responsible for the conversion of carbon dioxide to carbohydrates during photosynthesis.
The protein complex can be modified by botanists to augment the reactions in photosynthesis to produce more robust plants. To be able to complete the study, the researchers from the University of Sheffield created the high-resolution model of the Cytochrome b6f using cryo-electron microscopy to figure out what goes on the complicated spaghetti shape of the protein complex. Through this model, the researchers were able to visualize electrical connections between a pair of light-powered chlorophyll proteins—known as Photosynthesis I and II—in plant cells. These are the same proteins that convert sunlight to energy.
Creating new models like this helps researchers see that the cytochrome b6f taps into the electrical currents around it to power up protons—much like plugging in a rechargeable battery. This re-charged proton will be the one used to produce adenosine triphosphate, which is essential for the breakdown of carbon dioxide and turn it into carbohydrates.
In an e-mail to Gizmodo, author Matt Johnson explains, "We have obtained the structure of the plant cytochrome b6f complex by cryo-electron microscopy, and it shows how it processes its electron-carrying molecule in such a way to double the number of protons it moves across the membrane." Johnson and his team began to call the protein complex as the "beating heart of photosynthesis."
A statement that was released by the University of Sheffield explained that the findings can help sustain the global food chain. In the statement, Lorna Malone, the first author of the study and a Ph.D. student at the university's Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, stated, "Ultimately this reaction provides the energy that plants need to turn carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and biomass that sustain the global food chain."
NOT THE FIRST
Although considered a breakthrough in clarifying how the process works, this study is not quite unique as there are prior studies similar to this one and also focused on the role of cytochrome b6f in photosynthesis. Under laboratory conditions, a tweak in the protein complex can boost the growth of plants by at least 30%. This can tremendously help boost yields in important food crops around the world.
