Incremental discovery may one day lead to photosynthetic breakthrough

Photosynthesis is one of the most complicated and important processes — responsible for kick-starting Earth’s food chain. While we have modeled its more-than-100 major steps, scientists are still discovering the purpose of proteins that can be engineered to increase yield. Now researchers have uncovered secrets about another protein, CP12 — the full understanding of which may provide an additional route to boost yields in the future.