Scientists are clarifying our understanding of how light wavelengths affect the way plants develop their chloroplasts. Chloroplasts use light from the sun and carbon dioxide to produce energy compounds and are filled with chlorophyll, a pigment that absorbs sunlight to kick off that process and express the color of plants. However, environmental factors such as light also help plants produce better crops. National Science Foundation-funded study exams on how far-red light impacts chloroplast development in seedlings. Plants have light-absorbing signaling proteins, called phytochromes, to detect that wavelength. The phytochromes’ ability to detect far-red light leads to a block of ‘greening’ and supports the growth of plants.

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