JTS-100: A step change in accurately measuring photosynthesis

光合作用是几乎所有的能量和有机物进入生物圈的过程，因此对海洋和陆地的食物网至关重要。这些食物网构成了我们自己食物供应的基础。在生产这种食物的过程中，它从大气中吸收二氧化碳，同时产生所有复杂生命所依赖的所有氧气。它是地球气候的调节器，通过封存大气中的二氧化碳，因此是我们在应对气候变化方面拥有的最大形式的自然资本。一种模拟光合作用活性的合成催化剂肯定会解决人类的能源危机。光合作用利用细胞内的一种电子电路，从水中窃取电子，并将其提供给二氧化碳形成糖。电子线路是由一系列蛋白质复合体和小分子组成的，这些小分子起到了晶体管的作用。其中一个“晶体管”被称为光系统II，我们可以通过它活动时发出的荧光诊断信号来测量它的活动。我们还可以在自动化海洋潜水器上以高空间和时间分辨率机器人测量这一活动，通过热带雨林上空的无人机，甚至使用卫星从太空测量。科学家们正在利用这些数据来给出光合作用的全球图景、光合作用的分布和范围，并帮助我们了解影响光合作用的环境因素。然而，主要的挑战是将光系统II的活动与光合作用的真实测量联系起来，因为光系统II的测量可能会低估或高估实际的光合作用速率。这个错误的一个关键来源是光系统II下游的一些其他“晶体管”的活动。我们对这些活动的理解还处于起步阶段，主要是因为缺乏测量它们的技术。如果我们要预测地球将如何应对大气中不断增加的二氧化碳水平，这些技术是必不可少的。这样的预测是使用气候模型进行的，这些模型需要准确测量关键参数，如光合作用速率作为输入。现在可以使用JTS-100仪器以生物物理的方式测量这些“晶体管”的活性。该仪器的主要功能是使研究人员能够阐明光合作用的新方面，特别是这些“晶体管”的发现、活性和调节。这些发现将有助于理解植物、藻类和蓝藻光合作用的全球范围，以及它们如何应对环境变化。

Photosynthesis is the process by which virtually all energy and organic matter enters the biosphere and as such is vital for marine and terrestrial food webs. These food webs form the basis of our own food supply. In producing this food, it sucks CO2 from the atmosphere whilst producing ALL of the oxygen that ALL complex life depends on. It is a regulator of the Earth's climate, through sequestration of atmospheric CO2 and is therefore the greatest form of natural capital we possess in the fight against climate change. A synthetic catalyst that mimics the activity of photosynthesis would surely solve humanity's energy crisis.Photosynthesis makes use of a type of electronic circuit inside cells that rips electrons from water and donates them to CO2 to form sugars. The electronic circuit is composed of a series of protein complexes and small molecules that act as "transistors". One of these "transistors" is called photosystem II, and we can measure its activity by diagnostic signatures in fluorescence it emits when it is active. We can also measure this activity robotically with high spatial and temporal resolution in automated marine submersibles, through drones over rainforests and even from space using satellites. Together these data are being used by scientists to give a global picture of photosynthesis, its distribution and extent, and help us understand the environmental factors that shape it. The major challenge, however, is relating photosystem II activity to true measures of photosynthesis given that photosystem II measurements can both under- and over-estimate actual photosynthetic rates. A key source of this error is the activity of some of the other "transistors" downstream of photosystem II. Our understanding of these activities is in its infancy mainly due to a lack of technologies to measure them. These technologies are essential if we are to predict how the Earth will respond to the increasing levels of CO2 in our atmosphere. Such predictions are made using climate models which require accurate measurements of critical parameters like photosynthetic rates as their input. It is now possible to measure the activity of these "transistors" biophysically using the JTS-100 instrument. The main functions of this instrument are to allow researchers to elucidate new facets of photosynthesis, particularly the discovery, activity and regulation of these "transistors". These discoveries will feed back into understanding the global extent of photosynthesis in plants, algae and cyanobacteria and how they respond to environmental change.