A new way to genetically tweak photosynthesis boosts plant growth

Tobacco plants with a simplified process of photorespiration grew 40 percent bigger

tobacco farmer

FIELD TEST  Field tests with plants under real-world farming conditions have revealed how tweaking plants’ genetic instructions for a process called photorespiration increases crop yield.

Brian Stauffer/Univ. of Illinois

A genetic hack to make photosynthesis more efficient could be a boon for agricultural production, at least for some plants.