MRI: Laboratory Instrumentation for Biophotonics: Investigation of Plant and Cyanobacteria Pigments

[0304798] spiller所要求的仪器将促进PI、本科生和学士后学生以及米尔斯学院的教师参与两个研究项目，并增加未来项目的潜力。目前项目的总体描述是：1)光敏色素对黄星蓟瘦果萌发的控制作用；2)螺旋藻和节螺旋藻两种蓝藻属的相对色素组成，与螺旋藻属绿藻的比较。光谱辐射计加上LED和可调谐激光照明仪器将使我们能够在窄带宽内提供精确剂量的光子，并精确校准我们的系统。组合仪器也将使我们能够分析我们的实验生物体的吸光度特性。我们的光敏色素研究的目的是获得的结果，增加了光敏色素，控制发育过程的植物色素的知识体系。光敏色素作为一种开关机制，红光（660nm）通过改变发色团和载脂蛋白的构象启动发育过程。在远红色（730 nm）波长范围内，通过将发色团及其附着的载脂蛋白返回到原始构象，可以逆转初始信号。发育信号反转的逃逸时间是我们项目的目标之一。光敏色素系统是一种非常有趣的生物开关机制，在农业和医学的许多领域都有潜在的应用前景。

0304798SpillerThe requested instrumentation will facilitate the participation of PI, undergraduate women and post baccalaureate students, and faculty at Mills College, Oakland, CA in two research projects and increase potential for future projects. The general descriptions of the current projects are: 1) Control of yellow starthistle achene germination by phytochrome pigment 2) Relative pigment composition of two cyanobacteria genera, Spirulina and Arthrospira, compared to chlorophyte alga of the Spirogyra genus. A spectroradiometer plus LED and tunable laser illuminating instruments will enable us to deliver precise doses of photons in narrow bandwidths and to calibrate our systems precisely. The combined instrumentation will also allow us to analyze the absorbance characteristics of our experimental organisms. Our phytochrome research aims to obtain results that add to a body of knowledge about phytochrome, a plant pigment that controls developmental processes. Phytochrome acts as a switching mechanism whereby red light (660nm) initiates developmental processes by a conformation change in the chromophore and apoprotein. The initiating signal can be reversed by light wavelengths in the far red (730 nm) range by returning the chromophore and its attached apoprotein to the original conformation. The escape time from reversal of the developmental signal is one goal of our project. The phytochrome system is a very interesting biological switching mechanism with potential for useful applications in many areas of agriculture and medicine.