New gene editing technology has catalyzed the ability to improve global food production via the engineering of crops that can be more productive, more resilient to climate change, and require fewer resources by harnessing and manipulating their photosynthetic potential. This project seeks to understand the functional significance of a newly described photosynthetic metabolism in purslane, which combines two kinds of photosynthesis, C4 and crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM). By turning off CAM photosynthesis, the team will be able to test the hypothesis that this mechanism produces high drought tolerance. This work exemplifies a new approach in testing hypotheses of evolutionary adaptation and take the first essential step toward engineering a CAM cycle into C4 crop species such as corn or sugarcane, resulting in more drought-resistant plants.
Participants
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Erika Edwards
Professor; Curator of Botany at the Peabody Museum of Natural History; Director of Marsh Botanical Gardens; Acting Director of Peabody Museum (2025-2026)
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Vivian Irish
Eaton Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
