The elusive intermediary: Newly discovered protein may help to improve crop yields
Thursday, October 7, 2010 - 10:00
in Physics & Chemistry
Photosynthesis is the process used by plants to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into the energy-rich chemicals upon which all life-forms depend. The energy trapped in these compounds comes from sunlight, and photosynthetic organisms plants, algae and certain types of bacteria capture this energy in a usable form with the help of protein complexes called photosystems. Photosystems include antenna proteins that collect incident light, and green plants have two sorts of photosystems, which respond best to light of different wavelengths.