Colloquia: Optical reactor for light-driven chemistry & Photosynthetic proteins in action!

Title

Photosynthetic proteins in action! Towards a real‐time investigation of how light‐harvesting is regulated in photosynthetic organisms

Abstract

Plants and algae provide a natural example of how solar energy can be converted into chemical energy in the presence of oxygen while preventing photodamage. It has now been established that plants and algae prevent photooxidation by activating a rapidly inducible and reversible photoprotective mechanism at the level of their light-harvesting complexes. However, the precise activation process of this photoprotective mechanism remains unknown. We will here introduce our current understanding of how light-harvesting is regulated in plants and algae and, more generally, in oxygenic photosynthetic organisms. We will then highlight the spectroscopic and computational tools developed by our group aimed at unraveling the molecular mechanisms governing the activation of photoprotection in photosynthetic organisms – in real time.

Understanding both the mechanism and the rate at which plants can activate or deactivate photoprotection will provide answers to long-standing open questions in the fields of biophysics and physical chemistry. This knowledge will also be instrumental in inspiring new studies focused on maximizing plant productivity through the optimization of photoprotective responses.