PHOTO-CY-APPs · Photosynthesis and photoprotection regulation in marine cyanobacteria and its potential applications

Photosynthesis and photoprotection regulation in marine cyanobacteria and its potential applications

Cyanobacteria are the organisms that 'invented' photosynthesis, therefore they are the organisms responsible for evolution on Earth. They were the first photosynthetic microorganisms that started to increase the concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere, being the origin of the modern cells. Moreover, in the decades of the 70s and 80s, two specific genera of marine cyanobacteria (Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus) were discovered, which marked a turning point, disproving the idea that in the central areas of the oceans there were few microorganisms, due to the absence of nutrients. In addition, it is known, nowadays, that these small photosynthetic organisms are the main producers of organic matter on the planet. They have a tremendous ecological impact. Despite of all the knowledge about marine cyanobacteria, there is a mechanism that is still low explored, how marine cyanobacteria are protected themselves from the excess of solar energy, their photoprotection mechanisms. For that, this project is focused on the study of the Orange Carotenoid Protein (OCP) and their homologs in the marine cyanobacteria. Knowing how these ‘photoprotective’ proteins really work could have important implications. From the point of view of basic science, it is important to know how these organisms thrive. In addition, in a context of a climate emergency, we can predict how cyanobacterial populations in the ocean are going to vary with the increment of solar radiation. Finally, these proteins have a potential use as a tool in optogenetics, recent techniques that use proteins that response to light to biomedicine applications such as neuroscience.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз