Researchers at the University of Illinois Long Lab may have come up with a plan to solve food insecurity, at least in the short term. According to Phys.org, the researchers believe that increasing Rubisco, the enzyme in plants that captures carbon dioxide and turns it into food the plant can use during photosynthesis, could boost crop productivity.
As the planet continues to get warmer, causing extreme weather such as droughts in some places and floods in others, crops are negatively affected, which threatens the global food supply. This is happening at the same time that the world population continues to grow at an incredible pace, and hundreds of millions already face food insecurity.
The researchers believe that increasing Rubisco will improve yields and make plants more tolerant of drought and high temperatures. They also believe increased Rubisco will remove some of the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere that's contributing to the overheating of the planet.
|
What is the biggest reason you don't grow food at home? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Not enough time ⏳ Enzyme engineering is another method to improve crop yields and fight food insecurity by making plants more drought and heat resistant, but the technology hasn't reached a point yet at which it can be used on an industrial scale.
"Without these innovations, food insecurity will become more pressing in the future," said Coralie Salesse-Smith, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Illinois. "It's important to get improved crop varieties into agricultural fields before it's too late."
The researchers believe that increasing Rubisco will go a long way in boosting crop productivity, at least until more long-term innovations like enzyme engineering reach a place where they can be practically used on a larger scale, ideally leading to a reduction in food insecurity.
"Improving photosynthesis is a promising avenue," Salesse-Smith said. "I think improving photosynthesis, and Rubisco specifically, will be an important way to cope with food demand in the future."
Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
