MSU researchers discover switch in plants that regulates photosynthesis

In Michigan, a team of Michigan State University researchers has discovered a switch that regulates plant photosynthesis – the process that lets plants store solar energy and use it to grow and produce food.

Photosynthesis stores energy in two forms that are used to power plants’ metabolism. The amount of energy flowing into each of these must be perfectly balanced to match the needs of plants’ metabolism or the plant will self-destruct.

The results, featured in the current issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (add hyperlink), focus on what happens when photosynthetic output becomes unequal and plants begin to produce toxins that must be immediately addressed.