Water and land plants control their photosynthesis similarly, regardless of their origin

Plants carry out photosynthesis and thus form the basis for most life on Earth. Researchers from Kaiserslautern and Potsdam have now investigated whether the production of photosynthesis proteins in land plants and algae differs. To do so, they examined translation; this is the process by which the genetic information is converted into proteins. They have discovered that all plants produce the same amounts of major proteins involved in photosynthesis, but in some cases, based on different strategies. The result shows how important these proteins are for plants, regardless of their habitat. The findings of the study can help to make crop plants more resistant to climate change. The study was published in the journal Nature Plants.