California's Salk Institute for Biological Studies is developing a plant that can store excess carbon dioxide in its roots, in a bid to curb the effects of climate change.
The Harnessing Plants Initiative aims to create plants with the ability to retain an increased amount of carbon in the soil once they decompose rather than returning it to the air ? a process called carbon sequestration.
Implemented on a global scale, this could reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and with it reduce the warming of the earth.
Increased suberin results in larger roots
By influencing the genes that control root size and production of a substance called suberin, the team hope to create a plant with an expanded, more robust root system. This Ideal Plant, as they call it, would stockpile carbon in a form that resists decomposition, for optimum carbon storage in the ground. Suberin is a naturally occurring plastic-like carbon polymer, commonly found in cork, melon rinds and potato skins, that regulates which natural elements are found in the roots of plants.
It resists decay, so the Salk team are looking to isolate its properties and establish the gene that affects its production, in order to encourage other plants to produce more of the substance. It has the added benefit of enriching soil and helping plants to resist stress.
Could reduce CO2 emissions by up to 46 per cent
Salk is testing the idea on arabidopsis, a plant similar to mustard cress, which reproduces quickly and ...