Improving Canopy Level Photosynthesis in Sugarcane

Sugarcane is one of the most productive biofuel crops due to its superior photosynthetic efficiency. Sugarcane has a C4-type metabolism for fixation of carbon, allowing it to be very well adapted to biomass production in tropical and subtropical regions. Genetic improvement of photosynthetic efficiency can be achieved by targeting higher photosynthetic rates/unit of leaf area and by developing the most photosynthetically effective canopy. Lower sugarcane leaves are typically light starved. Improving light distribution within the sugarcane canopy will likely elevate biomass yield. Therefore, we also explored RNAi suppression of candidate genes which may enhance light transmission into the canopy.  Field performance of transgenic sugarcane with reduced chlorophyll content or altered chloroplast size will be presented.