Abstract - The diffusion of carbon dioxide from the air into leaf cells is essential for photosynthesis, but our understanding of how this occurs is limited. By studying leaves across the canopy of a model crop plant, we have linked the anatomical structure of leaf cells with how easily carbon dioxide can diffuse into them, a process termed mesophyll conductance. We found that cell wall thickness and the arrangement of sub-cellular organelles within the leaf cells influence mesophyll conductance. Our results highlight promising targets for manipulating leaf anatomy to improve mesophyll conductance which could boost crop productivity and yields.

Biography - Bio: Dr Tory Clarke is a plant molecular biologist and physiologist at The Australian National University. She obtained her B.Biotech (Hons) at the University of Tasmania in 2008 and her PhD in Plant Molecular Biology at the University of Sydney in 2014. Tory has undertaken postdoctoral studies at Macquarie University and the Australian National University. Her current research focuses on understanding and improving the uptake of carbon dioxide into plant leaf cells to enhance photosynthetic efficiency and generate higher yielding crops.