Howard Griffiths and his group investigate plant molecular, physiological and environmental processes which regulate productivity and CO2 sequestration, and aim to improve the operating efficiency of the primary carboxylase, Rubisco, and match water availability to use. Stable isotope methods are used to evaluate the origins and regulation of diverse photosynthetic carbon concentrating mechanisms (CCM). These include the C4 pathway and Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM), as well as the biophysical CCM in algae and hornworts, where their particular focus is on the molecular determinants of the chloroplast pyrenoid. Their work translates via fieldwork into food security and biomass crop productivity, as well as natural community diversity.
