Feeding from the sun—Successes and prospects in bioengineering photosynthesis for food security

作者：Stephen P. Long, Yu Wang, Elizabete Carmo‐Silva, Amanda P. Cavanagh, Martin C. Jonikas, Johannes Kromdijk, Benedict M. Long, Amy Marshall‐Colón, Diwakar Shukla, Robert H. Wilson, Xin-Guang Zhu, Elizabeth A. Ainsworth · 发表于：Cell · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.cell.2025.10.033 · 被引用次数：22 · 研究领域：Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms、Plant nutrient uptake and metabolism、Plant responses to water stress

There is an urgent need for increased crop productivity to reduce food insecurity and improve sustainability. Photosynthesis converts sunlight energy into carbohydrates, providing the source of nearly all of humanity's food. Photosynthesis is a key target for improvement, owing to inherent inefficiencies in the biochemical process. Over the last decade of advancements in bioengineering, strategies to increase the efficiency of photosynthesis were tested with proven enhancements to crop yields in field trials. Simple strategies like increasing the content of photosynthetic proteins have reliably increased photosynthesis and productivity in crops, as have more complex strategies such as bypassing photorespiration. While insertion of carbon-concentrating mechanisms into C 3 plants remains an engineering challenge, modeling suggests that achieving that would have the greatest gain for crop improvement. This review discusses the many successes in improving photosynthesis achieved over the past decade and quantifies the potential for future engineering targets to increase crop productivity.