This line of research has already been tested in field experiments with tobacco, a fast-growing model crop, and has resulted in plant dry weight increases of around 15 percent.
In the future such genetic engineering may result in improvements in the process of photosynthesis, but by the first decades of the 21st century, it had yet to demonstrate that it could dramatically increase crop yields.
The "electron hole" in the original chlorophyll pigment is filled by taking an electron from water.
Together, they allowed for a long and slow blooming of life that eventually included many organisms—humans among them—that cannot photosynthesize.
On the other hand, anoxygenic photosynthesis uses electron donors other than water. Over time, through the transfer of genes aided by a parasite, the absorbed bacteria became a functional part of the protist, enabling it to transform sunlight into nourishment. The vast majority of life on Earth uses visible red light in the process of photosynthesis, but the new type uses near-infrared light instead.
Oxygenic photosynthesis functions as a counterbalance to respiration by taking in the carbon dioxide produced by all breathing organisms and reintroducing oxygen to the atmosphere.
For specific questions related to visuals, please contact Todd Reubold. So will the improvement of photosynthesis make up for the food shortfalls we expect to face?