The international scientific journal Science published a photo of peas in bright sunlight as the cover of the 19th. The phrase ‘catch the light’ was also included. The peas, which received sunlight energy, are lusciously open.
Peas protect themselves from the sun by radiating heat energy through their leaves. Excessive sunlight can actually damage it. In this process, the photosynthetic efficiency required for plant growth is lowered. This is because it does not absorb sunlight for a certain period of time even following all the heat energy is removed. The transition from energy emitting motion to energy absorbing motion is not instantaneous.
This week, Science published a study showing that genetic manipulation can increase photosynthetic efficiency even following plants have protected themselves from heat energy.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign modified a gene involved in non-photochemical inhibition, a system in which peas protect themselves from sunlight. The genetically engineered peas showed high photosynthetic efficiency even following the heat energy was released. In fact, the amount of peas grown on the same stem increased by five times compared to regular peas. There was no change in the intrinsic nutritional components of peas, such as protein or oil.
The research team expects that this technology will help increase crop yields. Furthermore, he explained that it might contribute to future food security. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said in a recent report that it expects the world’s population to increase from 7 billion today to 9.7 billion by 2050, requiring twice as much crop yields as today.
