Schedule:
- 10:00-10:10 Welcome
- 10:10-10:50 Giles Johnson, Manchester University, United Kingdom
Optimising photosynthesis across different environments
- 10:50-11:30 Mark Aarts, Wageningen University, the Netherlands
Plant photosynthesis phenotyping
- 11:30-12:10 Marinus Pilon, Colorado State University, USA
The incorporation of iron and copper ions into proteins that function in photosynthesis in plant chloroplasts
- 12:10-13:10 Break
- 13:10-13:40 Christopher I. Vincent, University of Florida, USA
Widening the energetic highway: do plants acclimate to whole-plant energy fluxes, and can the transient rise in chlorophyll fluorescence assess photosynthetic flux acclimation?
- 13:40-14:00 Jonathan Pzybyla-Toscano, Université de Liège Belgium
Role of the iron-sulfur transfer protein NFU1 of the microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii in chloroplast metabolism in oxic and anoxic conditions
- 14:00-14:20 Loïc Haelterman, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
Natural variation of Arabidopsis in the photosynthetic capacity during nitrogen deficiency
- 14:20-14:40 Short talk
- 14:40-15:00 Short talk
- 15:00-15:10 Closing remarks
The number of onsite participants is limited. Please confirm participation by e-mail before Monday February 7th 2022. The Covid Safe Ticket (CST) is required to access the event. Wearing a mask is mandatory while seated in the theater.
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The event is organized in junction with the Ecole doctorale thématique (EDT) Plant Science, F.R.S.-FNRS.
Prof Giles Johnson
School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, United Kingdom
Optimising photosynthesis across different environments
Plants are exposed to environments that fluctuate on timescales ranging from seconds to seasons and require regulatory and acclimatory mechanisms to protect them from the resulting stress. In this presentation, I will present some of the recent work we have carried out, seeking to understand these processes. Our work focuses on how plants optimise photosynthesis and related metabolism to avoid oxidative stress, resulting from imbalances in light absorption and assimilation.
Prof Em Marinus Pilon
Emeritus Professor, Biology Department, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO.
The incorporation of iron and copper ions into proteins that function in photosynthesis in plant chloroplasts
Metal ions are essential to living organisms; for instance respiratory and photosynthetic electron transfer chains depend on metal cofactors, especially Iron (Fe) and Copper (Cu). Because they can be toxic when in excess, all organisms need to regulate the uptake and distribution of these elements. Plants must do with the ions present in the soil; different distributions of metal ions are needed during the vegetative growth phase and seed development. Furthermore, the presence of chloroplasts gives plants a more complex sub-cellular organization compared to other eukaryotes. To study the machinery required for Fe and Cu cofactor homeostasis in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, we used genetics (point mutants and knock-out mutants, over-expression, and antisensing), together with biochemical approaches (experiments with isolated proteins and chloroplasts as well as immuno-localization experiments). The systems and protein factors required for chloroplast Fe and Cu homeostasis in plants are related to and derived from prokaryotic systems, however with specific adaptations and regulation. A better understanding of metal ion cofactor use in chloroplasts not only gives insight into the evolution of photosynthesisand metal homeostasis in eukaryotes but may also benefit crop productivity, human nutrition and renewable biofuel production.