"If we don't achieve some major step changes in crop yields by 2050," says Dr. James Hartw

ell, "there will be a major shortfall in available food to feed the world's population." It's a serious problem to which Hartwell and a team at Liverpool University may help fend part of a solution. They are investigating the unusual properties of a Madagascan plant, the Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi. Unlike other plants it captures its carbon dioxide at night and is ten times more water-efficient than crops such as maize, which means it is highly suitable for desert area. Making desert lands more amenable to crops will be increasingly important over the coming decades.

Hartwell has been fascinated by desert plants since he was an undergraduate, and his interest carried through to his doctorate and a research Fellowship, What Liverpool University has added to the research is sophisticated DNA sequencing technology. "We tapped into that," says Hartwell, "and realised it was perfect for going into our desert plants and starting to understand what genes they are using to survive desert conditions and, in particular, to perform. this nocturnal(夜间发生的) CO2 fixation that they do. "

This aspect of the plant is taking on major significance. "The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted that in the next 50 years, already droughty regions will become droughtier," explains Hartwell, "and if they will expand, there will be increasing desertification."

There are two possible directions in which the results of this research may be used. They are not actually producing a desert plant but their high level research may lead to that. They may be able to deploy (展开，移植)the knowledge and, potentially, some of the genes into food crops such as wheat and soy beans. Though, as Hartwell points out, it relies on Genetically Modified food becoming widely accepted.

The other route is that these plants could be grown for biomass (大面积高密度的)that could feed into biofuel production. "If this is viable we could perhaps provide, certainly a percentage, of the world's biofuel needs through using marginal land, and growing desert plants that are very happy to grow there. " With questions being asked about the impact of current biofuel production, as well as food production and prices, the research at Liverpool can create real possibilities for adapting land usage in a time of climate change.

We may infer from the flint paragraph that ______.

A．world population will be a serious problem in the future

B．Hartwell and his team has found a total solution to the food shortage

C．the Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi needs more water than other plants

D．making the crops fit to the desert conditions is significant