Bugs Like CO2

Some bugs might be happy carbon dioxide levels are going up in the atmosphere.

It turns out rising CO2 concentrations in the air reduce soybean plant defenses, making them easier targets for munching insects, according to a new study published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The elevated CO2 impairs a key component of the plant’s defenses, according to the study, led by University of Illinois biologist Evan DeLucia.

“What we discovered is that leaves grown under high CO2 lose their ability to produce jasmonic acid, and that whole defense pathway is shut down,” Delucia said. “The leaves are no longer adequately defended.”

Photo Credit: Evan Delucia

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