While studying the Arabidopsis plant, scientists discovered that a
mutation on the DHS genedisrupts natural brakes on the production of
aromatic amino acids during photosynthesis. This provides the
opportunity to develop plants that can produce more aromatic compounds
while absorbing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, thus having the
potential to be both economically and environmentally beneficial in
today's setting.

Scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison identified a way to
release the said brakes on the plants' aromatic amino acids by altering
the DHS gene. They found that the plant was able to put photosynthesis
into overdrive and allowed the absorption of as much as 30% more carbon
dioxide without any harmful side effects to the plant. At the same time,
it also made the plant produce more aromatic compounds which are of
value to medicine, food, and fuel production.

Scientists hypothesize that the increased photosynthetic activity
provides additional energy to operate the energetically expensive
pathway and supply more carbon building blocks to make energetically
dense aromatic chemicals. If investigated further, the discovery may
also be applicable to other crops which can lead to economical plants
with improved bioenergy production and increased essential nutrients
that can help decrease carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere to help
fight climate Change.

[news.wisc.edu]