How vitamin C helps plants beat the sun
While vitamin C in plant chloroplasts is known to help prevent a reduction in growth that plants experience when exposed to excessive light—phenomenon called photo inhibition—how it gets into chloroplasts to begin with has been a mystery. Now, a team of researchers from the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resources and Okayama University has identified PHT4;4 as the transport protein that allows vitamin C to enter chloroplasts. Published in Nature Communications, the work shows that PHT4;4 can transport vitamin C and that it is located in the envelope membranes of chloroplasts. The researchers found that removing it leads to both less vitamin C in chloroplasts and increased photoinhibition triggered by extreme light. The research could lead to the development of crop plants with higher tolerances to environmental stress and reduce the damage to farmland in regions with strong light.