While elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide levels promote plant growth, they also lower the nutritional value of plants, which can have a more significant effect on global nutrition and food safety. Researchers at Michigan State University have found a new way that plants are adapting to the changing weather. This helps plants grow strong and keep their nutritional value.
Phosphorus, which is used as fertilizer and is important for plant growth, is in short supply around the world.
According to Hatem Rouached, an assistant professor in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, “we can’t synthesize [phosphorus] like we can nitrogen.” “In order for plants to survive, we need to better understand how they control phosphorus.”
Rouached and his team found that high levels of carbon dioxide made the shoots and leaves of plants have less phosphorus.
According to Rouached, we were curious as to why the plants weren’t utilizing more phosphorus.
“And to determine whether the decline in phosphorus levels is a flaw or an adaptive response, and whether there was a way to change that to ensure the plants grow and provide nutritious food too,” the researcher added.
At the subcellular level, Rouached and his team discovered that plants were avoiding overstuffing their chloroplasts with phosphorus as a defense mechanism against rising carbon dioxide levels. In chloroplasts, the process of photosynthesis, in which chlorophyll produces food for a plant to grow in the presence of sunlight, occurs. The production of energy for cells and photosynthesis both require phosphorus.
What was crucial to our discovery, according to Rouached, is that plants don’t grow when they are forced to put a lot of phosphorus in their chloroplasts. “We found that for plants to grow under elevated carbon dioxide, the increase in phytic acid levels needs to be tightly controlled.”
The scientists discovered that the plants stop growing once the phytic acid levels reach a certain point.
According to Rouached, this paper is the first to demonstrate the urgent need for discussion regarding how to prevent plant malnutrition from the global rise in carbon dioxide.
