Plant Clock Could Be the Key to Producing More Food for The World
Published:15 Mar.2021 Source:University of Melbourne
A University of Melbourne led study has established how plants use their metabolism to tell time and know when to grow -- a discovery that could help leverage growing crops in different environments, including different seasons, different latitudes or even in artificial environments and vertical gardens.
Published in the PNAS journal, Superoxide is promoted by sucrose and affects amplitude of circadian rhythms in the evening, details how plants use their metabolism to sense time at dusk and help conserve energy produced from sunlight during the day. Lead researcher Dr Mike Haydon, from the School of BioSciences, said while plants don't sleep as humans do, their metabolism is adjusted during the night to conserve energy for the big day ahead of making their own food using energy from sunlight, or photosynthesis.