Improving proteins to optimize photosynthesis

Publication date: 09/01/2023
Extent: 28 pages

Contributions by: James V. Moroney, Ashwani K. Rai, Hiruni Weerasooriya and Remmy Kasili, Louisiana State University, USA; and Marylou Machingura, Georgia Southern University, USA

Chapter synopsis:

It is estimated that crop yields need to increase almost 50% by the year 2050 to feed the increasing world population. While most of this improvement will be accomplished using plant breeding and conventional agronomic methods, another promising tactic is to use plant molecular biology to improve the photosynthetic efficiency of crop plants. One of the more ambitious strategies is to insert genes encoding proteins of the carbon dioxide concentration mechanism (CCM) found in algae. This chapter describes how these algal CCMs work and some approaches for introducing all or specific parts of these CCMs into plants. Some of the experimental challenges that need to be overcome are also discussed.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2022.0119.14