In Illinois, researchers have discovered a key protein in the photorespiration process to improve crop yield by improving photosynthetic efficiency. The newly discovered role of the plant protein Bile Acid Sodium Symporter 6 is to transport the toxic product glycolate out of the chloroplast where it is recycled into glycerate, a useful sugar molecule, through a series of chemical reactions, which release carbon dioxide and harmful ammonia while sacrificing energy.
Since the 1960s, researchers have known that plant chloroplasts export two molecules of glycolate to recover one molecule of glycerate. However, the chemical equation did not add up until now with the discovery of the function of BASS6, the second glycolate transport protein to be described since the glycolate/glycerate exchange transporter PLGG1 was described in 2013.
Now the researchers intend to craft a shortcut to avoid the production of ammonia and quickly process glycolate into glycerate without spending more energy.