Weeds are not generally thought of as helpful plants; most people could probably live quite contentedly without them but for Federation Fellow, Professor Steve Smith, a common weed, Arabidopsis thaliana, is helping to unlock the secrets of how plants use the energy they produce.
Knowing how plants use their CO2 could prove very useful to a world that is running out of fossil fuels.
While plants will not be able to reduce oil or petrol as a fuel source, Professor Smith sees plants as having a key role to play in the energy poor world of tomorrow (and today): "Plant energy metabolism is not going to solve the crisis, but we need to know more about plant energy systems if we are to become more dependent on them for food, energy and chemicals."
To carry out his research the Professor uses genetics, a field in which he has been involved at the very forefront, having been one of the team that isolated the first plant gene in 1980. The hoped for eventual outcome of all this research is improved crop performance and productivity, with plants that can survive harsh conditions.
While plant energy will not be able to replace petroleum, it "can go some way to alleviating the energy crisis."
