Scientists Design New Cycle to Boost Plant Growth and Carbon Capture

Scientists have designed a new cycle called malyl-CoA-glycerat (McG) to boost plant growth and carbon capture. The research team believes that this “C2-centric” approach could open opportunities to engineer crops with greater yields. The findings of the study are published in Science.

The McG cycle was designed to overcome the loss of carbon dioxide during the Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle. The researchers used phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PPC) to address the loss of carbon dioxide. This method enabled plants to either fix an additional carbon atom from 3-phosphoglycerate or recycle glycolate without losing carbon.

The results showed that the transgenic Arabidopsis plants carrying the McG cycle grew larger, doubled their carbon assimilation, and produced significantly more leaves, seeds, and lipids compared to wild-type plants. The findings suggest that the McG cycle not only reduces carbon loss but also triggers a feedback loop that boosts energy efficiency and productivity.

For more information, read the abstract from Science.

See https://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=21510