SCIENTISTS TWEAK PLANT GENES TO ENHANCE PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND INCREASE CROP YIELDS

With the looming problems of overpopulation as well as global warming, agricultural plants must be able to adapt as well as increase their yields to mirror human needs. The world population is almost 7.5 billion people, and increasing day by day. In order to keep up with the increase in people, as well as different climate conditions, plants must be genetically modified to increase their efficiency as well as their yield.

In order to increase crop yield, scientists found a way to change plants at the genetic level so they use the suns energy more effectively. When the plant takes in more light energy than it can handle, it initiates a process called nonphotochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence (NPQ). NPQ is a defense mechanism where the plant releases light energy as heat it doesn't get burned. As the sun moves through the sky and the plants no longer need to release excess light energy, NPQ is usually still ongoing, slowing photosynthesis. By changing the frequency at which NPQ occurs, the plant will not have a "slow photosynthesis" time frame, the speed at which the plant collects light energy will be able jump from high to low. 

http://www.popsci.com/scientists-tweak-plant-genes-to-enhance-photosynthesis-and-increase-crop-yields?dom=currents&src=syn

http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/125/4/1558.full