Produce twice as much with the same input

Researchers from Wageningen University & Research (WUR) have made an important discovery. This allows crops to produce twice as much and they propose to help the world food problem and the climate.

The researchers have found a natural genetic variation for photosynthesis in plants and have unraveled it down to the DNA level. This means that in the future we will be able to breed crops that make better use of photosynthesis. As a result, they can yield more and capture more CO2 in the soil, an important step in the search for a solution to the world food problem and in achieving the Paris climate agreement.

Adjustment to amount of light
A team of researchers shows that the thale cress possesses several genes, which are involved in adapting to a change in the amount of light that the plant receives. One gene, the Yellow Seedling 1 gene, is involved in the adaptation of chloroplasts to a change in light. A variant of this ensures that some thale cress plants can cope better with an increase in light (such as the difference between a cloudy and a sunny day) than the other plants.

Such variation has now been found for the first time in the thale cress, but since the genes occur in almost all plant species, the researchers expect that such variation will also be found in many other crops.

This discovery shows that it is possible to improve photosynthesis based on natural genetic variation. By breeding for improved photosynthesis, crops with the same amount of soil, water and nutrients could provide more yield, bringing the adagio 'more' (yield) 'with less' (soil, water and nutrients) one step closer.

New crop types
According to Mark Aarts, the discovery offers opportunities for breeding companies. "We now know that plants respond in their own way to variation in light and that this is embedded in the plant's DNA, but we don't yet know exactly how these adaptations work in the plant. We will need to do more research to find out how improved photosynthesis influences the growth of the plant, so we can make targeted selections."

Photosynthesis 2.0
WUR is currently working with 49 other institutes from 17 European countries on a new research proposal: photosynthesis 2.0. By 2050, enough food must be produced to feed 10 billion people. This means that twice as much food is needed to guarantee food security. With photosynthesis, this is achievable without further depleting the earth.

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