Genetically modified rice: Difference between revisions

In 2015 a consortium of 12 laboratories in eight countries developed a cultivar that displayed a rudimentary form of [[C4 carbon fixation|C4 photosynthesis]] (C4P) to boost growth by capturing [[carbon dioxide]] and concentrated it in specialized leaf cells. C4P is the reason corn and sugarcane grow so rapidly. Engineering C4 photosynthesis into rice could increase yields per hectare by roughly 50 percent. The current cultivar still relies primarily on [[C3 photosynthesis]]. To get them to completely adopt C4P, the plants must produce specialized cells in a precise arrangement: one set of cells to capture the carbon dioxide and to surround other cells that concentrate it. Some (possibly dozens of) genes involved in producing these cells remain to be identified. Other C3P crops that could exploit such knowledge include wheat, potatoes, tomatoes, apples and soybeans.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Speeding Plant Growth to Feed the World {{!}} MIT Technology Review|url = http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/535011/supercharged-photosynthesis/|website = MIT Technology Review|access-date = 2015-12-30|date = December 2015|last = Bullis|first = Kevin|archive-date = 29 January 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160129190813/http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/535011/supercharged-photosynthesis/|url-status = dead}}</ref>