Project description
Growing plant photoprotection
Plants protect themselves from photodamage by dissipating excess light energy as heat, a process controlled by the light-harvesting complex II (LHCII). This mechanism, known as energy-dependent quenching (qE), prevents the photosynthetic apparatus from being overwhelmed. While the role of LHCII in qE is established, the exact protein domains and conformational changes that trigger this process remain unidentified. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the Light4Switch project aims to unravel these mysteries. Specifically, the research will manipulate LHCII proteins using azobenzene photoswitches and a novel multipulse transient absorption spectroscopy method. This approach will provide real-time insights into how LHCII’s conformational changes regulate energy transfer, thereby enhancing our understanding of plant photoprotection.
Objective
Plants can dissipate excess absorbed light energy as heat, by reversible switching of light-harvesting complex II (LHCII) into photoprotected quenched states, to prevent photodamage of photosynthetic apparatus. The conformational switch of LHCII is suggested to modulate the interaction between the embedded pigments, and consequently activate charge transfer and/or excitation energy transfer processes which ultimately lead to the dissipation of excess energy as heat, known as energy-dependent quenching (qE). Although the site of qE has been long established, i.e. the LHCII, the specific protein domains and conformational switches responsible for activating qE are currently unknown.
This MSCA fellowship project AZO-LHCII aims to determine the role of the protein matrix of the LHCII in tuning their energetic state and driving the photoprotective switch of plants. To this end, this disciplinary project will for the first time strive to manipulate the conformation of LHCII antenna proteins with azobenzene photoswitches and use a novel multipulse transient absorption spectroscopy approach to study in real-time the effect of site-specific conformational fluctuations on the regulation of the excitation energy transfer in LHCII.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01
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08860 Castelldefels
Spain
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