Researchers from the John Innes Centre unveiled findings about
photosynthesis at the atomic level, shedding light on the plant's capacity
to provide food for itself. Their findings, published in Cell, present a
model and resources for tools that can make crops more resilient.



"Transcription of chloroplast genes is a fundamental step in making the
photosynthetic proteins that give plants the energy they need to grow. We
hope that by understanding this process better - at the detailed molecular
level - we will equip researchers looking to develop plants with more robust
photosynthetic activity," study leader Dr. Michael Webster explains.



The team used an advanced microscopy method known as cryo-EM to investigate
how plants make photosynthetic proteins, the molecular machines that make
this elegant chemical reaction happen, converting atmospheric carbon dioxide
and water into simple sugars and producing oxygen as a byproduct.



According to the researchers, the most valuable outcome of their study is
the development of a useful resource. Other researchers can download the
atomic model of the chloroplast polymerase and use it to make their own
hypotheses of its roles and devise experimental ways to test them.



[www.jic.ac.uk]