New plant breeding method for better photosynthesis

Biomass production

In recent years, various methods have been developed, including at WUR, to improve plant photosynthesis to such an extent that more of the captured sunlight can be used for biomass production. If this is successful, plants with improved photosynthesis can make an important new contribution to tackling the food problem without causing further damage to the climate, says WIR.

At the moment, virtually no use is made of the natural variation in chloroplasts and mitochondria in plant breeding. Researcher Pádraic Flood: “There is an enormous natural variation in chloroplasts, but researchers lacked simple methods to determine which chloroplasts possess the desired properties.”

PhD candidate Tom Theeuwen adds: “The trick we have used for thale cress is based on genetic modification, and its use for crops is subject to strict rules in Europe, but with the current modern breeding methods, it is fortunately very possible to make similar new combinations of organelles and chromosomes in a short period of time.

“Now that we have shown that this can lead to plants that perform better, a number of companies are interested to know whether this also applies to their crops. It offers us a new way of investigating whether we can better understand and improve plant photosynthesis, by creating and testing new combinations.”