Potatoes more resistant to global warming were bred in the USA

A team of researchers from the University of Illinois (USA) engineered potatoes to be more resistant to global warming, showing a 30% increase in tuber mass in hot conditions. This is reported by Potato Business. "The 30% increase in tuber weight observed in our field trials shows the promise of improving photosynthesis for climate-ready crops," said Kathryn Meacham-Hansold, director of the Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) research project at the University Illinois. Scientists have shown that by adding two new genes, glycolate dehydrogenase and malate synthase, they can increase the efficiency of photosynthesis. This energy saving contributed to an increase in model yield. Not only did the scientists see a difference, but the benefits, recently published in Global Change Biology, were tripled in heat conditions that are becoming more frequent and more intense as global warming progresses. Three weeks into the 2022 field season, when potatoes were still in the ...