Quantification of the mechanisms of light tolerance that determine growth and productivity in plants and algae.

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This proposal addresses the rapid adaptation of plants and algae to frequent changes in the light environment: non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). The molecular basis of NPQ and the assessment of NPQ effectiveness and high light tolerance in photosynthetic organisms are the focus of this proposal. The mechanism behind the adaptive reorganisation of the photosynthetic apparatus in response to high light intensities will be reproduced in membranes selectively devoid of its components and studied using electron microscopy, spectroscopy and biochemistry approaches. The role of specific proteins PsbS and Lhcx in the process will be addressed. A recently-developed novel method will be applied to determine effectiveness of NPQ and high light tolerance of plants and algae - a so-called pNPQ technology. This knowledge is important for understanding the patterns of the evolution of photosynthetic organisms in changing environments, allowing for the prediction of the impact of the climate change upon our planet's plant and algal communities. The proposal is timely since the PI has discovered the PsbS protein interaction patterns with the components of the photosynthetic apparatus, the economic nature of NPQ and visualised specific clustering of the light-collecting proteins (LHCII) in the photosynthetic membrane. Further, the recent paper of Niyogi's and Long's laboratories (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27856901) benefited from the use of pNPQ-based technology that helped to develop better performing crop plants just by making their NPQ respond more quickly to light fluctuations. In addition, the company Optisciences (USA) has utilised the pNPQ methodology in their revolutionary plant monitoring fluorimeter PSP32 (http://www.optisci.com/psp32.html) that is indispensable for monitoring plant light tolerance in the field. Hence, the further impact of the current proposal on research dealing with crop improvement via enhancement of energy-harvesting or light-endurance properties is expected.