Spongy mesophyll close spongy mesophyllThe plant tissue in a leaf which has loosely packed cells and air spaces between them to allow gas exchange. tissue is packed loosely for efficient gas exchange.

Leaves are beautifully specialized organs designed to maximize the use of light and CO₂ for photosynthesis. Engineering leaf anatomy therefore holds great potential to enhance photosynthetic capacity.

Mesophyll conductance, or the ease with which CO 2 can diffuse through a leaf’s cells before reaching the location where it undergoes carbon fixation, plays a key role in photosynthesis. CO 2 faces ...