Engineering Photosynthetic CO2 Assimilation to Develop New Crop Varieties to Cope with Future Climates

Abstract

Agricultural crop production must significantly increase in the next 30 years to ensure supply of enough nutritious food for the burgeoning global population. However, increasing variability in global climates and reductions in arable land are placing significant pressure on crop production. Most of the key food production crops such as wheat, rice, soybean and barley operate C3 photosynthetic biochemistry that is often limited by the efficiency of CO2 fixation, underpinned by the enzyme Rubisco (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase). Show more