The Role of Xanthophylls in the Mechanism of Nonradiative Energy Dissipation in Photosynthesis

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案(公共法律111-5)资助的。光合作用生物包含保护机制，使它们能够消耗光合作用不需要的多余太阳能。这种保护过程被称为非光化学猝灭(NPQ)。它的关键成分是叶黄素色素，这是胡萝卜素的含氧衍生物。这些分子还被认为在调节能量流动方面发挥作用，因为光合作用生物吸收的太阳能被转化为电势。控制这些过程的分子特征还不是很清楚。在这项研究中，将通过生化和光谱实验来揭示植物和藻类中NPQ和能量流动调节的控制因素。各种拟议的分子机制将进行测试，以了解这些过程是如何发挥作用的。该项目的总体目标是详细研究这些过程，以了解光合作用有机体如何保护自己免受高光胁迫以及它们如何调节能量流动。广泛影响这项工作的教育和培训贡献是学生将在复杂生物材料的分离、纯化和表征技术以及复杂的分子光谱方法方面获得经验。培训将培养组织和解决问题的技能，撰写报告和出版物，并在公开传播研究结果的科学会议上发言。学生们还将根据需要前往我们的合作者的实验室，以尽快实现这些研究。因此，该项目提供了广泛的实验方法和专业经验，这对参与的学生作为独立科学家的发展将是有价值的。该项目的外展贡献将包括积极参与东北联盟大学针对STEM领域未被充分代表的少数民族学生的暑期研究计划、康涅狄格大学NSF REU计划、东北中学科学碗和为有天赋和有才华的中学生举办的奥德赛日。该研究项目的智力价值和社会效益是，它将扩大我们的视野，了解光合作用的有机体如何受到保护，免受过度的光能吸收，并对不同的环境条件做出反应，同时保持对生存至关重要的有效能量流动。从光合作用生物如何以这种方式发挥作用中学到的经验可以用于开发新的太阳能转换设备。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Photosynthetic organisms contain protective mechanisms that allow them to dissipate excess solar energy not needed for photosynthesis. This protective process is called nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ). Among its critical components are xanthophyll pigments, the oxygen-containing derivatives of carotenes. These molecules are also thought to play a role in regulating energy flow as solar energy absorbed by photosynthetic organisms is converted into electrical potential. The molecular features that control these processes are not well understood. In this research, biochemical and spectroscopic experiments will be carried out to uncover the controlling factors for NPQ and energy flow regulation in plants and algae. Various proposed molecular mechanisms will be tested to see how the processes function. The overall objective of the project is to examine these processes in detail in order to understand how photosynthetic organisms protect themselves from high light stress and how they regulate energy flow.Broader Impacts The educational and training contributions of the work are that students will gain experience in the techniques for the isolation, purification and characterization of complex biological materials and in sophisticated molecular spectroscopic methods. The training will foster organizational and problem-solving skills, writing reports and publications, and making presentations at scientific meetings where the results of the studies will be openly disseminated. The students will also travel to the laboratories of our collaborators as needed to bring these studies to fruition as rapidly as possible. Thus, the project provides exposure to a broad spectrum of experimental methodologies and professional experiences which will be valuable for the development of the participating students as independent scientists. The outreach contributions of the project will include active participation in the Northeast Alliance University of Connecticut Summer Research Program for Underrepresented Minority Students in STEM Fields, the University of Connecticut NSF REU program, the Northeast Middle School Science Bowl, and Odyssey Day for Gifted and Talented Middle School Students. The intellectual merit and societal benefits of the research program are that it will enlarge our view of how photosynthetic organisms are protected from excessive light energy absorption and respond to varying environmental conditions while maintaining efficient energy flow essential for survival. Lessons learned from how photosynthetic organisms function in this manner can be used in the development of novel solar energy conversion devices.