Submitted by Krishna Niyogi on
On a regular basis, land plants and algae absorb more sunlight than they can utilize for photosynthesis. Excess light absorption leads to photooxidative stress and damage which is detrimental to the photosynthetic efficiency. The photosynthetic organisms have developed protective mechanisms to deal with such situations so that they can acclimate to the changing environments. Such mechanisms aid in dissipating the excess absorbed energy as thermal energy. These photoprotective processes are collectively known as non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). Enhancing our understanding about NPQ working will be beneficial for studies which focus on improving photosynthetic efficiency. Therefore, the main goal of this project is to shed light on the functioning of proteins and pigments involved in NPQ through structural studies of the photosynthetic apparatus.
The student will be working with a postdoctoral researcher in the Niyogi lab, Radhika Khera (PhD). They will get an opportunity to acquire hands-on experience in working with plants and algae, learn various biochemical techniques including protein purification, SDS- PAGE, BN-PAGE, and western blots, structural techniques including negative staining and even exposure to single particle cryo-EM. This project includes a nice blend of a variety of techniques from biochemistry, molecular biology, and structural biology.
Minimum qualifications: Biology 1A or 1B (may be taken concurrently), 3.0 GPA, and interest in genetics. Hours are negotiable, but a commitment of at least 12 hours per week is expected