Photorespiration

Photorespiration, Spencer Arias (2024)
for solo piano

The creation of this work would not be possible without the important contributions of Berkley J. Walker. It is crucial that the science is highlighted, by vocalizing the scientist note aloud to the audience so that they can learn about the research the music was inspired by.

Scientist Note
Oftentimes when people think about how plants will respond to rising carbon emissions and temperatures, the image that comes to mind is a barren wasteland of withered stalks. While this may be the case in some regions, the truth is much more nuanced than this. For example, since plants use carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, which produces the basic building blocks of life, there is an aspect of climate change that is beneficial to plant growth. For example, years of experimental research in crop growth under elevated carbon dioxide concentrations show that if there is sufficient water, crop production actually increases. So does this mean that our mental image of withered stalks should be replaced by croplands thick with productivity?

Not quite, while we know that increasing temperatures and variable precipitation may reduce the benefits of increased carbon dioxide, there is another factor to consider. With this increase in yield due to higher carbon dioxide comes a general decrease in how nutritious food is that comes from these plants. So even though we may have greater yield, the quality of this yield decreases. In my lab we are looking at a particular mechanism that links elevated carbon dioxide with decreased plant nutrition. This link comes from a process known as photorespiration, which helps feed the metabolic pathways that produce classes of vitamers known as folates. We are working to quantify how much of plant folates come from this process of photorespiration and how climate change will effect future production of these vital compounds. This knowledge will not only help us better understand what we are in for, but it may also guide efforts to increase production of these compounds in the future.
-Berkley J. Walker, Ph.D Molecular Plant Sciences, Associate Professor of Plant Biology at Michigan State University

Program Note
Photorespiration is one piece out of a collection of new works in response to and collaboration with a group of plant scientists, in this case, Berkley Walker, in his talk “The Future of Plant Nutrition.” As you can see below, quite a bit of nuance goes into the effects of Climate Change on the Biology of Plants and the impact that biology has on the essential nutrients required for our survival. One thing that people outside of the science fields often struggle with is the search for truth and how that truth is ever-evolving. So, for instance, plant scientists discovered that higher carbon dioxide levels increase plant yields, so for many of us, we might immediately say carbon dioxide is suitable for plants, yet as Berkley points out, that does not take into consideration the decrease in plant nutrition, which is also an important point to be aware of. The nuance of scientific research is part of what this piece explores. Musically speaking, I was looking to evoke a sound world of a mix of desolation (withered stalks), contemplation, and this juxtaposition between what we know and what we don’t. Quite quickly, it became clear that the worlds built by Japanese Filmmaker and Animator Hayao Miyazaki and his frequent collaborator composer Joe Hisaishi were something I wanted to explore as many of his films connect to this idea of humanity’s relationship to nature. Plants are an essential part of our existence, and having a closer relationship and understanding is critical to continuing this co-existence. Unlike other works in this project, this piece relies on metaphor significantly more than gestural responses to data or surface-level features as it does in my work, the “inefficiencies that feed us,” It is much more about painting an impression of a world that we are still trying to understand fully and are regularly at odds with.