Soybean domestication linked to higher mesophyll conductance for increased photosynthesis

In a new study conducted by the Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) project, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign looked back in time at soybean growth and discovered that modern plants have increased mesophyll conductance. This means that carbon dioxide travels faster from inside the leaf to the carbon-fixing enzyme Rubisco and consequently increases photosynthesis without loss of additional water.