Photosynthesis is one of the most crucial life processes on Earth. It’s how plants get their food, using energy from sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide from the air into sugars. It’s long been thought that more than 30 percent of the energy produced during photosynthesis is wasted in a process called photorespiration.
A new study led by researchers at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), suggests that photorespiration wastes little energy and instead enhances nitrate assimilation, the process that converts nitrate absorbed from the soil into protein.
Understanding the regulation of these processes is critical for sustaining food quality under climate change,” said lead author Arnold Bloom in the Department of Plant Sciences at the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
NIFA supports this research through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. Read the full story at UC Davis Blogs.
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