Biologists have identified a new gene California poplar trees (Populus trichocarpa) — named booster —It can promote photosynthesis and increase the height of trees.
Transgenic hybrid poplar with increased expression levels BSTR Increased photosynthetic efficiency and biomass under greenhouse conditions. Image credit: Feissa others., doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2024.11.002.
“Historically, much research has focused on steady-state photosynthesis, where all conditions remain constant,” the co-senior authors said. Dr. Stephen Burgessa researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
“However, this does not represent a field environment where the light is constantly changing.”
“In recent years, these dynamic processes have been thought to be more important, but they are not fully understood.”
In the new study, Dr. Burgess and his colleagues focused on poplar trees. Because poplar trees grow quickly and are great candidates for making biofuels and bioproducts.
They conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) by sampling approximately 1,000 trees in an outdoor research plot and analyzing their physical characteristics and genetic makeup.
The researchers used GWAS populations to search for candidate genes related to photosynthetic quenching. Photosynthetic quenching is the process that regulates how quickly plants adapt between sun and shade and dissipate excess energy from excessive sun to avoid damage.
One of the genes Booster (BSTR)was unusual because it is unique to poplar and contains sequences derived from chloroplasts, even though it is within the nuclear genome.
“We found that this gene can increase Rubisco content and subsequent photosynthetic activity, resulting in tall polar plants when grown in greenhouse conditions,” the authors said.
“In field conditions, we found that the genotypes were highly expressed. booster Up to 37% taller and more biomass per plant. ”
The researchers also booster at the model factory ArabidopsisAs a result, biomass and seed production increases.
This discovery is booster Can potentially cause yield increases in other plants.
“This is an exciting first step, but it is a small-scale experiment and there is much work to be done. If we can reproduce the results on a large scale, this gene has the potential to increase biomass production in crops.” said Dr. Burgess.
“Next steps in the research could include trials at other bioenergy and food plants, recording plant productivity under different growing conditions to analyze long-term success. .”
“We also plan to investigate other genes identified in the GWAS study that may contribute to crop improvement.”
of findings Featured in this week's diary developmental cells.
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Birk A. Feissa others. orphan gene booster Increases photosynthetic efficiency and plant productivity. developmental cellspublished online on December 3, 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2024.11.002
Source: www.sci.news
