Researchers Engineer Potatoes to Withstand Heat

Researchers at the University of Illinois are making progress in engineering potatoes to be more resilient to global warming. The international research project, Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), is looking at altering photorespiration, a photosynthetic process that occurs more frequently in high temperatures and has been shown to reduce crop yield.

Previous project members found that by adding two new genes to model plants’ pathways, they could improve photosynthetic efficiency and drive plant growth. The latest trials showed that under heat wave conditions, the modified potatoes grew 30 percent more tubers than the control group. Multi-location field trials are needed to confirm the findings in varying environments.