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Overview |
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Source : courtesy of David Cove, |
Photosynthetic organisms have profoundly impacted the chemical nature of the terrestrial environment by elevating the concentration of atmospheric oxygen. Cyanobacteria, algae and plants are the producers of oxygen, and hence, the redox (reduction/oxidation) conditions in these organisms are markedly different from those in heterotrophic organisms such as yeast, animals and humans. Maintenance of redox homeostasis is central to the utilization and generation of energy in all organisms. Cells have evolved a variety of adaptive responses that tend to maintain redox poise, thereby permitting them to exploit environmental conditions effectively while minimizing the destructive effects of oxidation or reduction of inappropriate substrates. In this project, we have undertaken a systems approach to examine the impact of cellular redox status on the overall functions of cyanobacteria and plants. |
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Our experimental organisms are Synechocystis 6803, a cyanobacterium; Arabidopsis thaliana, a vascular plant; and Physcomitrella patens, a non-vascular plant. Genome sequences of all three have been determined. We are using a multidisciplinary approach to generate systems level predictive models in the form of a Redox Control Network (RCN) in Synechocystis 6803, a prototype of the progenitors of chloroplasts in plants. Next, we are evaluating the conservations of such a network and its subcomponents in Arabidopsis and Physcomitrella. We expect that our approach, namely first to model an RCN in cyanobacteria and then to extend it to plants, will highlight the expected conserved nature of these processes during the evolution of land plants. |
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Thursday, 01-Mar-2007 6:24 PM
