Developing an Essential Research Platform for the Molecular Engineering of Photosystem II

到达地球的阳光被植物和藻类用来驱动光合作用和储存化学能。光合作用对地球最基本的贡献可能是产生气态氧，这是太阳能驱动的水分解化学的结果。然而，水分裂背后的机制并不完全清楚。在这项建议中，我们将构建一个新的蓝藻宿主模型来研究水的分解。寄主生物体将经过基因改造，以测试水氧化的机械问题，并将提供新的和纯的分离蛋白形式。这种模式生物将为国际研究团队提供一个研究光合作用的新工具。

Sunlight reaching the earth is used by plants and algae to drive photosynthesis and to store chemical energy. Possibly the most fundamental contribution photosynthesis makes to earth is to generate gaseous oxygen, the result of solar driven water-splitting chemistry. However, the mechanism behind water-splitting is not exactly known. In this proposal we will construct a new model cyanobacteria host to study water splitting. The host organism will be genetically modified to enable mechanistic questions of water oxidation to be tested and will provide new and pure forms of isolated protein. This model organism will provide team of international researchers with a remarkable tool new to study photosynthesis.