Scientists engineer shortcut for photosynthetic glitch, boost crop growth by 40 percent

Plants convert sunlight into energy through photosynthesis; however, most crops on the planet are plagued by a photosynthetic glitch, and to deal with it, evolved an energy-expensive process called photorespiration that drastically suppresses their yield potential. Researchers from the University of Illinois and U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (ARS) report in the journal Science that crops engineered with a photorespiratory shortcut are 40 percent more productive in real-world agronomic conditions.
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[@GalenMatson]

First! I'd like to know how portable this adaptation will be to other plants. Will this apply equally to all staple crops such as rice, maize, and wheat? What about leaf vegetables and root vegetables? Does this imply that we could potentially reduce the amount of land dedicated to farming and restore some of the landscape to forests? Excellent work. I dearly hope this pans out and has broad applications.