Iron Limitation and Phytoplankton Photosynthesis: Research Fellowship in Marine Biotechnology

最近的证据表明，铁的可用性 可能会限制浮游植物生物量和初级生产， 海洋地理区域。 铁是一个关键组成部分， 光合电子传递链;速率降低 和光合作用的效率，预计当浮游植物 增长是有限的。 在奖学金研究中，生物物理、生物化学和 免疫学技术将用于检查表型 海洋浮游植物光合机构的反应 在控制条件下的铁缺乏症 恒化器培养。 将进行种间比较 两个分类群的生物之间，硅藻和 球壳类 PS I反应中心叶绿素浓度 （P700）、细胞色素B复合物和可溶性电子 将测量载体铁氧还蛋白和黄素氧还蛋白 从几何学上来说。 氧气闪蒸产量将用于 测定活性PS II反应中心的浓度，和 闪光荧光技术将用于确定 总PS II反应中心的活性分数。 来自海藻或高等植物的多克隆抗体将是 用于测定羧基化的相对丰度 核酮糖二磷酸羧化酶，类囊体ATP 合成酶，PS II反应中心的几个组分 复合物和捕光复合物蛋白。

Recent evidence has indicated that the availability of iron may limit phytoplankton biomass and primary production in many oceanographic regions. Iron is a key component of the photosynthetic electron transport chain; reductions in the rate and efficiency of photosynthesis are expected when phytoplankton growth is iron-limited. In the fellowship research, biophysical, biochemical and immunological techniques will be used to examine the phenotypic response of the photosynthetic apparatus of marine phytoplankton to iron deficiency under controlled conditions in iron-limited chemostat cultures. Interspecific comparisons will be made between organisms from two taxonomic groups, a diatom and a coccolothophorid. The concentrations of the PS I reaction center chlorophyll (P700), the cytochrome b complex and the soluble electron carriers ferredoxin and flavodoxin will be measured spectrophotometrically. Oxygen flash yields will be used to determine the concentration of active PS II reaction centers, and flash fluorescence techniques will be used to determine the fraction of total PS II reaction centers which are active. Polyclonal antibodies from marine algae or higher plants will be used to determine the relative abundances of the carboxylating enzyme ribulose biphosphate carboxylase, the thylakoid ATP synthetase, several components of the PS II reaction center complex and light harvesting complex proteins.