Living in modern times, the most convenient thing for us is probably the readily available diet. The convenience of various choices and low prices may make it difficult for us to understand that the supply and source of world food is an important issue affecting the future survival of mankind. But this is actually a long-term problem that the whole world is facing. The change of climate and environment, the extension of life expectancy make the world population increase sharply ... and so on, which makes the number of human beings not proportional to the growth rate of food. Fortunately, scientists have prepared for us in times of peace. Before the problem has spread out of control, they will actively try to prevent the possible food crisis in the future from an innovative perspective and direction. In this article, we will understand the importance of food problem and how science can put forward possible solutions from the latest genetic technology "super photosynthesis".
Do you know that El Nino caused by climate change has caused the worst drought in Africa in 30 years? In 20 16, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided nearly US$ 654.38 billion (about NT$ 3.3 billion) to provide emergency food aid to Ethiopia/Kloc-0.2 million people. This silent crisis will not only occur in Africa, but also spread to the whole earth, because El Ni? o phenomenon may also cause droughts in Southeast Asia and Australia, as well as heavy rains in South America, which will lead to a sharp decline in the output of rice, wheat and sugar. Therefore, even grain-producing countries should guard against the possible food crisis.
On the other hand, the progress of medical technology has increased the population growth rate, but the output and growth rate of important crops are far behind the global population growth rate. Furthermore, even in Taiwan Province Province, the self-sufficiency rate of grain is decreasing year by year, reaching 33.3% in 20 15, far lower than 56% 30 years ago. We rely too much on food imports, and once the imported food sources are in short supply, we may immediately face a food crisis.
Advanced genetic engineering of super photosynthesis can increase crop yield, and the latest research breakthrough of genetic engineering may bring dawn to the above crisis. With the popularity of gene sequencing, more biological genes have been decoded. Recently, geneticists announced that they had taken a big step in the research of transgenic rice. Therefore, rice can absorb the required solar energy more effectively like corn and weeds, and grow rapidly, which greatly improves the growth efficiency. Through the efforts of scientists, this research team, which spans 8 countries 12 laboratories, has overcome a major obstacle and greatly increased the yield of rice, which may also be applied to wheat in the future. These two kinds of food crops, which human beings depend on for their livelihood, account for nearly 40% of the world's major food crops, and their output is gradually becoming flat, making it increasingly difficult to meet the rapidly growing food demand.
Simply put, plants can be divided into C3, C4 and Cam. C3 plants can do photorespiration, while C4 plants can't. C3 plants, such as rice, wheat and peas. Most of them are plants in warm and cold regions, and about 95% of the plants on the earth are C3. C4 plants include sugarcane and corn, which are mainly distributed in tropical areas. CAM is mainly succulent plants such as cactus and agave. When almost all C3 plants are engaged in photosynthesis, if the light is too strong and the temperature is too high, the stomata will be closed to avoid water loss. Results Photorespiration can only produce CO2, but not energy, which reduces the efficiency of photosynthesis and does not help the growth of plants. On the contrary, C4 plants have higher photosynthetic efficiency. This "super acceleration" process of photosynthesis is called C4 photosynthesis, which accelerates the growth of plants by capturing carbon dioxide and concentrating it in leaf cells. Make photosynthesis more efficient. This is why corn and sugarcane grow so efficiently. If rice grows through C4 photosynthesis, it will be able to surpass the current rice in just a few weeks. The researchers calculated that the yield of rice and wheat with C4 photosynthesis will increase by about 50% per hectare, which will make it possible to produce the same amount of food with less water and fertilizer, hoping to solve the food crisis caused by climate change.
However, the dilemma that scientists encounter at present is that despite the genetic changes, rice plants still mainly rely on their usual forms of photosynthesis. In order to switch rice to the new photosynthetic mode completely, researchers need to arrange it more accurately in cells. The new genome editing method enables scientists to accurately modify part of the plant genome and make dozens of gene changes in plants at a time. Easily change a large number of genes, greatly improving the slowness and deficiency of traditional agricultural breeding methods.
Although this advanced genetic engineering, pressurized photosynthesis, will really benefit farmers generally, it may take several years of research and development. Of course, it is very complicated to recombine plants for photosynthesis. But once scientists eliminate all these problems of C4 photosynthesis technology, many crops, including wheat, potatoes, tomatoes, apples and soybeans, are expected to join the ranks of rapid growth. Of course, there are still many doubts about genetically modified crops. Not necessarily, genetically modified crops are the only solution. In any case, under the threat of climate change in the future, how to solve the food source safely and successfully is a topic worthy of in-depth discussion and thinking.
En.wikipedia/wiki/C4_carbon_fixation Science and Technology Review/S/53501/Compression-Photo Synthesis/Plant Physiology/Content/1/56. Full Kachwanya/2015/02/20/Idea-Friday-Compression-Light.
This article is reproduced from: GENEONLINE, the most professional media team in the field of genetics.
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