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This diagram explains the gist of the paper [1]. This system supposedly enables growing "algae, yeast, mushroom-producing fungus, lettuce, rice, cowpea, green pea, canola, tomato, pepper, tobacco" in the dark with acetate.

[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-022-00530-x/figures/1

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Algae and fungus can be done in the dark, but there seem to be some limitations to full plants still: "Plant tolerance and consumption of acetate as a heterotrophic energy source will need to be increased to fully decouple plants from biological photosynthesis."

Oh you are right. Looks like they did manage grow some "undifferentiated lettuce tissue" in the dark using acetate and then did some preliminary work to show that whole plants can metabolize acetate when grown in the light. I wonder what the plan is, if any, to increase "plant tolerance and consumption of acetate as a heterotrophic energy source".

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