PLANT POWER PLANTS
Charles Darwin's 200th birthday arrives on February 12, 2009, and
while his theory of evolution has stood the test of two centuries,
scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, are now are
working to circumvent evolution, at least a bit, by introducing some
non-accidental changes into the tiniest of all plants.

The scientists want to genetically modify microalgae so as to
minimize the number of chlorophyll molecules the algae need to
harvest light without compromising the photosynthesis process in the
cells. The goal is to use the microalgae for making bio-fuel.
Instead of making more sugar molecules for themselves, they could be
producing hydrogen or hydrocarbons for us, and in the process
mitigate the threat of climate change caused by the burning of
fossil fuels.

The Berkeley researchers have identified the genetic instructions in
the algae genome responsible for deploying about 600 chlorophyll
molecules in the cellâ•˙s light-gathering antennae. They figure that
the algae can get along with only about 130 molecules.

Why go to this trouble? Researcher Tasios Melis argues that a
larger chlorophyll antenna helps the organism compete for sunlight
absorption and survive in the wild, where sunlight is often limited
but is detrimental to the engineering-driven effort of using algae
to convert sunlight into biofuel. The scientists want to divert the
normal function of photosynthesis from generating biomass to making
products such as lipids, hydrocarbons, and hydrogen....