 There are two possible directions in which the results of this research may be used. They are not actually producing a desert plant but their high level research may lead to that. They may be able to deploy the knowledge and, potentially, some of the genes into food crops such as wheat, barley and soya beans. Though, as Hartwell points out, it relies on ‘Genetically Modified food becoming widely accepted’.
The other route is that these plants could be grown for biomass that could feed into biofuel production. ‘If this is viable we could perhaps provide, certainly a percentage, of the world’s biofuel needs through using marginal land, and growing desert plants that are very happy to grow there.’ With questions being asked about the impact of current biofuel production, as well as food production and prices, the research at Liverpool can create real possibilities for adapting land usage in a time of climate change.
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