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News From the Field

Newly Identified Enzymes Help Plants Sense Elevated CO2 and Could Lead to Water-wise Crops


December 13, 2009

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Plants take in the carbon dioxide (CO2) they need for photosynthesis through microscopic breathing pores in the surface of leaves. But for each molecule of the gas gained, they lose hundreds of water molecules through these same openings. The pores can tighten to save water when CO2 is abundant, but scientists didn't know how this process worked. Now biologists have identified protein sensors that react with CO2 to close the pores.Full Story

Source
University of California, San Diego

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