Photopigments and Photosynthesis Lab
The dynamics of colourful proteins shape the processes of photosynthesis
We use a range of molecular genetics, biochemical and biophysical methods to study the solar energy capture and transformation in plants and cyanobacteria. We seek to broadly understand the molecular mechanism of long-wavelength photopigments in photosynthesis.
Sunlight has proved inexhaustible over geological time and the amount impinging on the earth’s surface vastly surpasses the biological energy needs of all life forms on earth. we take a systematic approach to study pigment-binding protein complexes and photosynthetic apparatus dynamics upon changing environmental schemes, such as light and temperature. We strive to translate our findings into light/environmental adaptation context and the implication of agricultural potential and biotechnology of novel fluorescence labels.
Using cyanobacteria as model organisms, our current areas of research include: Characterising the functions and structure of red-shifted chlorophyll-binding protein complexes; Defining the diversity of photo-acclimation and impacts of molecular regulatory components on photosynthesis; The evolutionary significance of cyanobacteria and their unique physiological and biochemical finesses.
We are also interested in the relationships between leaf shapes and photosynthesis efficiency.
We use biophysical and biochemical laboratory techniques to look at their structure and photochemistry, including absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, peptide fingerprinting, high performance liquid chromatography, and combined -omics applications.
We study the biochemical and biosynthetic pathways of red-shifted chlorophylls (Chl d and Chl f) using in vitro enzymatic synthesis of Chl d from Chl a, and knock-out mutants in cyanobacteria. Understanding these pathways will improve the light-harvesting efficiency of economically important crops.
We study light-harvesting processes by investigating how wavelengths in different regions of the solar spectrum are absorbed and transferred to these reaction centres. Our study involves looking at the role of specific proteins using in vitro and in vivo laboratory methods, including cloning, protein purification in native conditions, in vitro reconstitution, and spectral analyses.
Some photosynthetic organisms use photoreceptors that detect changes in light quality, triggering a downstream physiological response. Our group focuses on photoreceptors capable of detecting photosynthetically active radiation.
Using genome and gene-level analyses, we have analysed the genome of Acaryochloris marina and the newly sequenced genome of Halomicronema hongdechloris in search of unknown components in the photosynthetic pathway, including newly discovered non-protein coding RNAs (ncRNAs).
We apply state-of-the-art proteomic analyses to identify specific gene functions in response to changed light environments. Our main challenge involves identifying evolutionary modifications that facilitate assembly of photosynthetic complexes capable of performing photosynthesis under far-red light, including changes to light-sensing complexes, specialized light-harvesting proteins, and chaperones.
