
Scientists engineer shortcut for photosynthetic glitch, boost crop growth by 40% - jelliclesfarm
https://m.phys.org/news/2019-01-scientists-shortcut-photosynthetic-glitch-boost.html
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xupybd
This seems amazing, does anyone have any idea what this will do to the food
quality? I read that as we increase the CO2 in the air plants grow faster but
the ratio of carbs to other nutrients increases and this may be contributing
to obesity. Would this be similar?

That said, it's well worth it if you can reduce the cost of food in developing
countries.

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jelliclesfarm
I don’t know how detailed I can get into this..

But short answer: this applies mostly to Rubisco in C3 plants like rice that
is almost at par with methane releasing cattle in its environmental impact.
(But this seems to be affecting Rubisco in C4 plants like tobacco) It has to
do with carbon fixation. This is GMO level: Max.

I am cautious. Because some of us still remember the Green Revolution and the
Golden Rice fiascos. Same folks.

What Rubisco does: [http://hyperphysics.phy-
astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Organic/rubisco.h...](http://hyperphysics.phy-
astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Organic/rubisco.html)

On C3 carbon fixation:
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/C3_carbon_fixation](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/C3_carbon_fixation)

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jelliclesfarm
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photorespiration](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photorespiration)

[..]Reducing photorespiration may not result in increased growth rates for
plants. Photorespiration may be necessary for the assimilation of nitrate from
soil. Thus, a reduction in photorespiration by genetic engineering or because
of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (due to fossil fuel burning) may not
benefit plants as has been proposed.[11] Several physiological processes may
be responsible for linking photorespiration and nitrogen assimilation.
Photorespiration increases availability of NADH, which is required for the
conversion of nitrate to nitrite. Certain nitrite transporters also transport
bicarbonate, and elevated CO2 has been shown to suppress nitrite transport
into chloroplasts.[12] However, in an agricultural setting, replacing the
native photorespiration pathway with an engineered synthetic pathway to
metabolize glycolate in the chloroplast resulted in a 40 percent increase in
crop growth.[..]

Also:
[https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rstb.200...](https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rstb.2008.0057)
..it gets interesting after point 3 in the above link.

Basically..boiled down, this is what I understand:

1\. We exist because of the sun and photosynthesis. 2\. We are just one fart’s
way to making another fart. Think Methane. Our metabolic processes and how we
eat and live and survive is based on this. 3\. Photosynthesis is the planet’s
most effective bio regulator. Takes sun’s energy and 4\. Nature in its wisdom
has pulled down decaying matter to trap carbon. And we are drilling to get all
that out and sustaining ourselves with these dredged out fossil fuels. 5\. As
long as we are fossil fuel reliant and keep eating as we do and produce our
food using fossil fuels that was meant to stay buried, we are acting to
accelerate our extinction. 6\. We have to stop relying on fossil fuels. No
amount of bio tinkering would do. 7\. We should seriously reconsider ‘farming’
as we know it and how we create fuel for our physical selves to stay alive.
Maybe we are doing it wrong.

In other words, are we destroying the planet by eating? And by extension, by
farming. Not just tillage but everything connected with food..from tractors to
supply chains is such a massive carbon foot print. Anything to do with fossil
fuel is spending sequestered carbon, no? It’s a super simplified way of
thinking, but I feel like it boils down to that. Surely we can survive if we
don’t farm and eat and transport and cook ‘food’ aka body fuel..as we do now.
This could be our fundamental and basic mistake. What if there was another way
to sustain our metabolic processes? But we never tried to develop or evolve
it? Or maybe this is our march towards entropy.

That’s where I am now.

