Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution => Topic started by: thedoc on 11/07/2016 16:01:17

Title: Can we genetically modify plants to absorb more CO2?
Post by: thedoc on 11/07/2016 16:01:17

Can we modify the genes of plants so that they can absorb more carbon dioxide and grow faster? If happens, it will both create more biomass and reduce green house gas. Thank you.
Asked by Thuy Vo


                                        Visit the webpage for the podcast in which this question is answered. (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/podcasts/naked-scientists/show/20160705/)

[chapter podcast=1001386 track=16.07.05/Naked_Scientists_Show_16.07.05_1005367.mp3](https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenakedscientists.com%2FHTML%2Ftypo3conf%2Fext%2Fnaksci_podcast%2Fgnome-settings-sound.gif&hash=f2b0d108dc173aeaa367f8db2e2171bd)  ...or Listen to the Answer[/chapter] or [download as MP3] (http://nakeddiscovery.com/downloads/split_individual/16.07.05/Naked_Scientists_Show_16.07.05_1005367.mp3)

Title: Re: Can we genetically modify plants to absorb more CO2?
Post by: Villi on 16/06/2016 07:53:38

I think so. Plants have a couple carbon fixation pathways. C3, C4 and CAM are the main pathways, each with different characteristics. There are many genes and enzymes in each pathway so upregulating/overexpressing some of them will make more carbon be processed into their biomass (most of a plant's biomass is from the air, not nutrients/water). Couple problems with this is that the plant may grow too fast for its structural features to support the weight, especially if they're not developing fast enough or absorbing enough nutrients/water to keep up with the increased C.

Title: Hear the answer to this question on our show
Post by: thedoc on 11/07/2016 16:01:17

We discussed this question on our  show































































Chris Smith put this to fellow Naked Scientist, Kat Arney...































































[Transcript to follow]































































Click to visit the show page for the podcast in which this question is answered. (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/podcasts/naked-scientists/show/20160705/) Alternatively, [chapter podcast=1001386 track=16.07.05/Naked_Scientists_Show_16.07.05_1005367.mp3](https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenakedscientists.com%2FHTML%2Ftypo3conf%2Fext%2Fnaksci_podcast%2Fgnome-settings-sound.gif&hash=f2b0d108dc173aeaa367f8db2e2171bd) listen to the answer now[/chapter] or [download as MP3] (http://nakeddiscovery.com/downloads/split_individual/16.07.05/Naked_Scientists_Show_16.07.05_1005367.mp3)

Title: Re: Can we genetically modify plants to absorb more CO2?
Post by: Villi on 07/07/2016 05:57:07

Whoa, did my answer contribute to the podcast? Pretty cool if it did. If not, I'm glad I wasn't incorrect.