The lab of Thomas D. Sharkey have characterized a sucrose transporter protein found in common beans. The recently discovered protein, called PvSUT1.1, could help us understand how beans tolerate hot temperatures.

The four-year, $898,946 grant from the National Science Foundation will allow Sharkey to continue his research on the evolutionary pattern of the appearance and loss of isoprene emission among various land plants and the impact of these emissions have on the atmosphere.

The Sharkey lab reports a correction for non-photosynthetic absorption of light in calculations of electron transport. Fluorescence measurements of electron transport are one way to determine crop productivity.

High levels of photosynthetic productivity can dangerously alter a plant cell's chemical balance. GPT2 is a sort of 'brake' that helps recycle and store extra resources that are produced during those times.

The enzyme, G6PDH, diverts and pumps resources into the Calvin-Benson cycle at critical moments to keep the cycle active and, by extension, plants happy and healthy.  

Madeline Bresson from the Sharkey lab and Jacob Wright from the Ducat lab have each won first prize at the University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum. Both were recognized for their poster presentations.

Plants use the shunt to quickly reboot the Calvin-Benson cycle, the crucial process that makes their food and nourishes the planet's food chain.

Atmospheric scientists factor lesser known photosynthesis research into their models. The result: carbon levels in the air could be much higher by 2100 than previously predicted.