We focus on the study of energy coupling of the peripheral light-harvesting complexes to the PSI core reaction center in two PSI supercomplexes that reflect two different light-harvesting strategies... Read More
The evolutionary development of photosynthesis is being investigated, in particular the transition from anoxygenic to oxygenic forms of photosynthesis. The approach includes detailed molecular evolution analysis of existing photosynthetic organisms, including complete genome comparisons...Read More
Our research concentrates on the isolation and cultivation of a new green sulfur bacterial species from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent, where the only source of light is geothermal radiation that includes wavelengths absorbed by photosynthetic pigments of this organism...Read More
Complete genome sequencing is proposed for four photosynthetic prokaryotes, Heliobacterium modesticaldum, Roseobacter denitrificans, Rhodocista centenaria and Acaryochloris marina. Finished genome sequences of these carefully selected organisms will fill large gaps in the available genomic data for photosynthetic prokaryotes... Read More
We explore the complex genetic history of the nitrogenase family, which is replete with gene duplication, recruitment, fusion, and horizontal gene transfer and discuss these events in light of the hypothesized presence of nitrogenase in the last common ancestor of modern organisms, as well as the additional possibility that nitrogen fixation might have evolved later...Read More
Our research concentrates on the isolation and cultivation of a new green sulfur bacterial species from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent, where the only source of light is geothermal radiation that includes wavelengths absorbed by photosynthetic pigments of this organism...Read More
This project will increase our understanding of how plants and other photosynthetic organisms convert the energy of sunlight into chemical energy. The process of photosynthesis supplies all of our food and most of our energy needs. This project is designed to give detailed knowledge of the chemical mechanism of this essential biological process...Read More
The overall objective of this project is to determine the mechanisms of excitation transfer and regulation of this unique antenna system, including how it is integrated into the rest of the photosynthetic energy transduction apparatus. Techniques that will be used in this research include biochemical analysis, spectroscopy, microscopy, X-ray structural ...Read More
The aim of this project is to study the copper active sites using uv-vis, electron paramagnetic and x-ray absorption spectroscopy. A new twist in our studies is the report that azurin, a closely related cupredoxin, has been shown to enter human cancer cells and induce apoptosis. Experiments are currently being done to see whether or not auracyanins would have a similar effect. ...Read More