Investigate and understand the factors that affect the kinetics of NPQ induction and recovery

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The aim of my project is to analyze photoprotective mechanisms of land plants and to understand their molecular relationships. Although this is an intensively investigated research field, there are still details of the non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) that are far from understood.The starting point of my project is the work of my host institute dealing with the overall aim to enhance plant productivity of important food crops by tuning photoprotection. A first step was the identification of three factors by heterologous expression of three genes of a model organism in host plants. The utilization of (natural) variants of the genes could possibly lead to further enhanced plant productivity. This is why the host institute aims to modify the established construct with variations of each gene to potentially optimize this construct (Aim 1-5). The main aim of my project is to characterize natural and induced variations of photoprotective mechanisms and to transfer gained knowledge to crop plants. The investigation comprises the role of the carotenoid antheraxanthin within the so-called xanthophyll cycle of land plants (Aim 1). Accumulation of this pigment notably presents a variation of the xanthophyll cycle in specific green algae. The effect of such a modified mechanism on land plants will be investigated and the differences shall be determined on a molecular level (Aim 2 and 3). Besides these algal variations, I further aim to identify and characterize further naturally occurring modified NPQ mechanisms in potentially adapted plants (Aim 4).