Photosynthetic acclimation

The light harvesting complex is composed of trimeric and monomeric antenna proteins containing Chlorophyll a and b pigments and carotenoids. Its role is to capture the light energy and transfer it in the form of excitation to the chlorophyll of the reaction centers and to dissipate the excess of light energy when the light input overcomes the photosynthetic capacity. Furthermore, constituting a large portion of the photosynthetic protein, the light harvesting complex play a role on the overall organisation of the thylakoid membrane. The goal of the research project is to investigate the role of the phosphorylation of each LHCII subunit in the photosynthetic acclimation to different light conditions. The project aims to answer the following questions: What are the specific roles of the different isoforms? Would a modified isoform lacking the N-terminal phosphorylation still allow acclimation to different light conditions? What is the contribution of the N-terminus and the protein core in defining the role of each isoform? Is it possible to alter the phosphorylation kinetics and will this affect the adaptation dynamics?

• The Kinase STATE TRANSITION 8 Phosphorylates Light Harvesting Complex II and Contributes to Light Acclimation in Arabidopsis thaliana
  Longoni, P; Samol, I; Goldschmidt-Clermont, M
  FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE, 10 10.3389/fpls.2019.01156 SEP 19 2019
• Comparison of transplastomic Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Nicotiana tabacum expression system for the production of a bacterial endoglucanase
  Fae, M; Accossato, S; Cella, R; Fontana, F; Goldschmidt-Clermont, M; Leelavathi, S; Reddy, VS; Longoni, P
  APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY 101(10):4085-4092   10.1007/s00253-017-8164-1 MAY 2017
• Use of Nicotiana tabacum transplastomic plants engineered to express a His-tagged CP47 for the isolation of functional photosystem II core complexes
  Pagliano, C; Bersanini, L; Cella, R; Longoni, P; Pantaleoni, L; Dass, A; Leelavathi, S; Reddy, VS
  PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY  111: 266-273 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2016.12.009  FEB 2017
• Activation of the Stt7/STN7 Kinase through Dynamic Interactions with the Cytochrome b(6)f Complex
  Shapiguzov, A; Chai, X; Fucile, G; Longoni P; Zhang, LX; Rochaix, JD
  PLANT PHYSIOLOGY  171(1):82-92  10.1104/pp.15.01893 MAY 2016
• A Nucleus-Encoded Chloroplast Phosphoprotein Governs Expression of the Photosystem I Subunit PsaC in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
  Douchi, D; Qu, Y; Longoni, P; Legendre-Lefebvre, L; Johnson, X; Schmitz-Linneweber, C; Goldschmidt-Clermont, M
  PLANT CELL 28(5):1182-1199  10.1105/tpc.15.00725 MAY 2016
• Phosphorylation of the Light-Harvesting Complex II Isoform Lhcb2 Is Central to State Transitions
  Longoni, P; Douchi, D; Cariti, F; Fucile, G; Goldschmidt-Clermont, M
  PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 169(4):2874-2883  10.1104/pp.15.01498  DEC 2015
• Production by Tobacco Transplastomic Plants of Recombinant Fungal and Bacterial Cell-Wall Degrading Enzymes to Be Used for Cellulosic Biomass Saccharification
  Longoni, P; Leelavathi, S; Doria, E; Reddy, VS; Cella, R
  BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 289759   10.1155/2015/289759 2015

• Photosynthesis acclimation
• Thylakoid organisation
• Protein dynamics
• Adaptation to different light condition
• Photosynthetic efficiency improvement

• Biophysical analysis of the photosynthetic parameters
• Protein complex isolation and native analysis
• Protein phosphorylation dynamics