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Larger, deeper root systems can help store more carbon in the soil because if a plant dies and parts of it remain deep in the ground, the carbon in those parts is less likely to return quickly to the air. Ringeisen says roots aren’t the only possible storage option. The modified plants can also be used to make pumpable bio-oil or biochar. deep underground for storage.
Optimizing facilities for carbon removal will be difficult, he says. Daniel VoytasHe is a genetic engineer at the University of Minnesota and a member of the scientific advisory board of the IGI.
He says many of the traits that researchers want to change in plants are influenced by multiple genes, which can make precise regulation difficult. Some plants, such as tobacco and rice, have been studied so extensively that while researchers have broadly understood how to fine-tune them, the genetics of others are less well understood.
Ringeisen says much of IGI’s early research into photosynthesis and root systems will focus on rice. At the same time, the institute will seek to develop better gene-editing techniques for sorghum, a staple crop that has been particularly challenging for researchers. The team hopes to eventually understand and potentially change soil microbes as well.
“It’s not easy, but we embrace complexity,” says Ringeisen. Ultimately, he hopes, when it comes to climate change, “plants, microbes and agriculture may actually be part of the solution, not part of the problem.”
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