Description du projet
Concevoir des organismes photosynthétiques qui exploitent au maximum la lumière du Soleil
La photosynthèse constitue un processus fondamental sur Terre, exploitant l’énergie dérivée de la lumière du Soleil pour générer l’oxygène que nous respirons et la nourriture que nous mangeons. Cependant, les plantes ainsi que d’autres organismes photosynthétiques absorbent uniquement une infime partie de l’énergie solaire à disposition, et subissent une perte supplémentaire en convertissant cette énergie en biomasse. Améliorer la récupération et le stockage de l’énergie solaire pour la photosynthèse permettrait d’optimiser la production de nourriture et d’énergie. Le projet PhotoRedesign, financé par l’UE, accepte ce défi: en combinant des expertises en génétique, en biochimie et en biophysique, l’équipe compte mettre au point de nouvelles versions de la photosynthèse pour la cyanobactérie modèle Synechocystis. PhotoRedesign va modifier les processus photosynthétiques complexes considérés jusqu’à présent comme immuables, permettant ainsi aux organismes photosynthétiques d’utiliser davantage d’énergie solaire, et donc de produire davantage de biomasse (nourriture) et de biocarburant.
Objectif
Oxygenic photosynthesis uses the energy of sunlight to generate the oxygen we breathe and the food we eat, but the vast majority of the received solar energy is not converted to biomass. Enhancing photosynthesis to improve the production of food, energy and high value compounds is a compellingly important challenge that has not been taken up yet, because it requires the modification and exchange of large ensembles of interacting photosynthesis components from different organisms.
For the first time, we will undertake the comprehensive redesign of photosynthesis to enhance its capacity to harvest and safely convert solar energy. To achieve this, we combine in our team unique and complementary expertise in genetics, biochemistry and biophysics in the full range of bacterial and plant photosynthetic organisms. We will combine genetic engineering with new approaches from synthetic biology and adaptive evolution to create a novel enhanced variant of photosynthesis in the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis as chassis. The ground-breaking overall objective is to combine photosystems from different photoautotrophic organisms, including de novo-designed antennas in reimagined photosystems.
By employing a multidisciplinary approach for combining different natural and de novo-designed photosynthesis modules in one adaptable bacterial chassis with the goal to create a novel enhanced type of photosynthesis, PhotoRedesign goes far beyond conventional applied and fundamental photosynthesis research. PhotoRedesign will establish new model systems and toolkits for the next generation of photosynthesis researchers, and it develops a novel concept for modifying complex processes, hitherto considered to be immutable. In consequence, PhotoRedesign will advance photosynthesis research and create the basis for improving the productivity of economically-relevant photosynthetic organisms.
Champ scientifique
Programme(s)
Thème(s)
Régime de financement
ERC-SyG - Synergy grantInstitution d’accueil
80539 MUNCHEN
Allemagne