New development of plastid signal research

Research into the process of photosynthesis could benefit a range of areas - from increasing output from agriculture and developing stress resistant crops, to the design of solar panels and solar energy harvesting technology. In order to develop our understanding of this process, the study of photosynthesis needs to focus on the chloroplast - the cellular compartments where photosynthesis takes place. Professor Mitsumasa Hanaoka, from the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Functions in the Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Horticulture at Chiba University, is exploring how plants coordinate messages between the nucleus and chloroplasts responsible for optimised photosynthesis.