BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Tag: photosynthesis (Page 1 of 2)

How CRISPR is Supercharging Crops

By

On April 7, 2025

In Student Post

Scientists at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois have made a breakthrough using CRISPR/Cas9 to enhance gene expression in rice by altering its upstream regulatory DNA. This approach increases photosynthetic efficiency and could lead to major advances in sustainable agriculture.

Usually, CRISPR is used to knock out genes, but this research boosts gene expression instead. The team focused on a gene called PsbS, which plays a key role in photoprotection (helping plants balance light absorption for efficient energy use). By flipping the regulatory DNA upstream of the gene, they triggered a significant increase in its expression. This method left most other genes unchanged, minimizing unintended effects.

Rice provides 20% of the world’s calories, so even small improvements in its growth efficiency could have large global impacts. Unlike genetically modified crops, this method does not introduce foreign DNA, which eases regulatory concerns and making adoption by farmers faster.

In AP Biology, we learn that gene regulation occurs at the transcriptional level and also after transcription, which means that modifications to promoters, enhancers, and silencers can directly affect gene activity. This research aligns with the concept of epigenetic regulation, which refers to changes in gene expression that don’t involve altering the DNA sequence itself. The CRISPR-based strategy used in this study is an example of how epigenetic mechanisms can be used to modify plant traits without changing the plant’s DNA structure, which makes this method valuable for sustainable agriculture.

Additionally, this research illustrates how photosynthesis itself is a complex process involving both light-dependent and light-independent reactions. The CRISPR modification indirectly boosts photosynthetic efficiency by enhancing a plant’s ability to handle the absorption of light, preventing damage to the photosystem and ultimately improving the plant’s growth and productivity. The role of light in photosynthesis is a core principle in AP Biology, and this research builds on that by demonstrating how plant genes can be modified to enhance energy efficiency.

This discovery opens the door for future applications in climate-resistant crops, higher-yield wheat, and drought-tolerant corn. Scientists are already exploring ways to apply similar CRISPR-based enhancements to other frequently used crops, such as maize and soybeans.

I’d be open to eating CRISPR-edited rice since it enhances natural genes without adding foreign DNA. This research interests me because it connects to what I’ve learned in AP Biology about gene regulation and photosynthesis. I think focusing on modifying existing genes is a smart way to improve crops while avoiding GMO concerns.

Would you eat CRISPR-edited rice? Should scientists focus on enhancing natural genes instead of adding foreign DNA?

Green rice sheaves planted in a paddy field with long shadows at golden hour in Don Det Laos Rice can come in brown, white, red, and black colour.

Can Fish Make Human Friends?

By

On March 7, 2025

In Student Post

A study from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPI-AB) in Germany found that wild fish in the Mediterranean Sea are able to identify specific human divers. This discovery resulted from an issue that scientific divers encountered: local fish would follow them on research dives, focusing primarily on the diver that had previously supplied food. Therefore, researchers ran trials to find out if the fish could actually distinguish different divers. Do you think that the fish will be able to distinguish between the divers?

At a research site where wild fish were already accustomed to the presence of divers, researchers carried out the study eight meters below the surface of the water.  As “participants” in the study, the fish were allowed to decide whether or not to participate in the research. Diver Katinka Soller attracted fish by wearing a bright red vest and feeding them while swimming 50 meters, as part of the experiment’s initial phase, the training phase. She gradually eliminated these visual indications, eventually wearing plain dive gear and concealing the food so that only fish that followed her all the way were rewarded. Out of the different species “participating,” two seabream were especially interested in the experiment. Seabream are a particularly interesting type of fish. Specifically, seabream tend to inhabit tropical and temperate coastal waters. They are a demersal fish species, meaning they live near the bottom of seas and oceans. Also, seabream are mostly marine fishes. However, some members of the species will enter freshwater environments. In addition to constantly following Soller, these fish also had distinguishable individual characteristics. After 12 days of training, about 20 fish were consistently following Soller, and she was able to identify multiple fish by their appearances.

File:Georgia Aquarium - Giant Grouper.jpg

In the “two-diver test,” the second part of the experiment, Soller dove with Maëlan Tomasek, a doctorate student who was wearing slightly different dive gear than her. The fish followed both divers equally, displaying perplexity. The fish soon discovered that Soller was preferred, though, because Tomasek never fed them.  This change of behavior suggests that the fish were actively learning and differentiating between the divers rather than merely following out of routine. I never thought that fish would be intelligent enough to do this! In order to clarify whether the fish recognized the divers or just their gear, the experiment was repeated with both divers wearing identical gear. The fact that the fish could no longer distinguish between the divers indicates that they connected each diver to the colors of their equipment. Given that fish have color vision, the researchers hypothesized that the fish recognized these visual cues. However, the researchers also suggested that with more time, the fish and potential other animals could learn to discriminate between finer human characteristics such as hands or hair. How interesting! According to Soller, the fish seemed to examine the divers closely, as though they were researching the people.

This study raises the possibility of unique interspecies connections and implies that fish are capable of developing unique relationships with humans. Although it may seem surprising, senior author Alex Jordan said that these fish already navigate intricate habitats with a wide variety of species, so it should not be completely shocking that they can interact with humans complexly. Did you ever think that fish were capable of forming bonds with humans?

I found this article particularly interesting because I have been a certified scuba diver for over seven years, and it is always so interesting to see how marine life interacts with the divers!

This article connects to the photosynthesis unit of AP Biology because without photosynthesis, marine plants, the foundation of the marine food web, would not be able to survive and the fish population would therefore die out. Overall, photosynthesis allows for marine plants such as kelp and phytoplankton to use light energy to form chemical energy, which is stored in the form of glucose. During the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis, pigments such as chlorophyll absorb light energy and split water molecules, releasing oxygen (in the case of this article, releasing oxygen into the seawater). This oxygen is essential for aerobic organisms, such as the fish in the study, as it is critical for cellular respiration (the process in which glucose is broken down into ATP). The light-dependent reactions also create ATP and NADPH which are needed for the Calvin cycle. The Calvin cycle, which occurs in the stroma of the chloroplast, uses the ATP and NADPH from the light-dependent reactions to fix carbon dioxide into G3P (a building block of glucose). Glucose is not only used as a source of energy (once broken down into ATP through cellular respiration) but as a building block for complex plant structures such as cellulose and starch. Specifically, glucose is essential for marine plants in terms of energy because through cellular respiration, glucose is broken down into ATP. This ATP can then be used for important cellular activities such as reproduction and growth. The survival of these photosynthetic organisms is critical because they are the foundation of the food web as primary producers. Primary consumers such as small crustaceans feed directly on the primary producers, consuming their energy. These primary consumers are then preyed upon by secondary consumers such as the seabream fish species observed in the study. Without the photosynthetic organisms, the primary consumers would die out and therefore the secondary consumers would also die out. As consumers, the fish species must intake nutrients from other organisms in order to survive because they cannot produce their own food like autotrophs. In addition, photosynthesis is key to the oxygenation of marine environments. The oxygen produced from the splitting of water in photosynthesis helps balance oxygen levels in the seawater, preventing hypoxic conditions which can be detrimental to marine ecosystems. Overall, the study emphasizes the importance of photosynthesis as the foundation of essentially all ecosystems worldwide.

 

 

 

The Secret Life of Algae: Photosynthesis in Near-Total Darkness

By

On March 7, 2025

In Student Post

Submerged buoy with algae at Rågårdsdal, Lysekil Municipality, Sweden.

QUICK, THINK FAST! When I say the word photosynthesis what are the first three things that come to your mind. 1. 2. 3. Time’s up! Most likely light was one of the three things you listed, after all the fact that photosynthesis requires light is the first thing all biology students learn about the process. So what if I told you that some photosynthetic cells could harness energy in near-total darkness, deep beneath snow and ice. You may not believe me but this is the astonishing reality of Arctic microalgae, as revealed by recent scientific research.

Researchers from the Alfred Wegner institute, spent a year aboard the Polarstern, a German icebreaker frozen in the center of the Arctic, to study how life survives in one of the world’s most demanding environments. The team primarily focused on studying phytoplankton and ice algae which are responsible for the majority of photosynthesis in the central Arctic.

Where their research became groundbreaking is that they found that just days after the months-long polar night ended, new plant biomass grew, proving that photosynthesis was taking place under the thick snow-covered ice which only allows a few photons of light to pass through. The research team used extremely sensitive light sensors in the ice and water to determine how much light the algae had available, and found the microalgae only had about one hundred thousandth of what reaches the earth’s surface on a sunny day available for their growth.

Dr Clara Hoppe, the leader of the research team, espoused how impressive it was that algae could utilize such low levels of light, further connecting it to how well organisms can adapt to their environment. Meanwhile sea ice researchers Dr Niels Fuchs and Prof Dirk Notz discussed how difficult it was to achieve a precise measurement of light as they had to freeze specially made instruments into the ice during the polar night all the while considering the inconsistencies in the light levels beneath the ice. However Prof Notz assured the reader that there was not more light than what they had measured. 

This study got me thinking, is this phenomenon exclusive to phytoplankton and ice algae, and to my surprise the answer was a resounding no. Cyanobacteria are tiny photosynthetic organisms that live everywhere on earth and have similarly evolved to live in low light climates. Biologist Donald Bryant explained that when living in low light environments some cyanobacteria ​​are able to switch from using visible light that’s more conductive to their growth to harvesting a weaker far red sunlight, and this ability is in part why cyanobacteria are responsible for about 50% of all photosynthetic activity on this planet. Similarly certain species of Red algae have adapted to extracting energy in varying light conditions. One example is Cyanidiophyceae, a group of aquatic and terrestrial red algae which are one of the only photosynthetic organisms that can survive in hot springs and acid mining sites with extreme conditions such as variable light levels. Researchers at Rutgers University have hypothesized that the algae are able to cope with these harsh conditions as they have stolen 1% of their genes from bacteria via horizontal gene transfer. They have also proved that the algae creates proteins to help them cope as well. 

As a student of AP biology these organisms performing photosynthesis with little to no light astonished me. As I stated in the beginning, the very first thing I learned about photosynthesis in elementary school is that the process needs light, and as I dived deeper into the subject on the AP level I learned the specifics of why that was. During the light dependent reactions of photosynthesis photons of light are required to transfer energy into pigments which then transfer the energy from pigment to pigment until it reaches the reaction center complex. This process happens in both photosystem 2 and 1 making it essential, so an organism’s ability to adapt to their surroundings and perform this task with little photons of light is astounding and has great implications for the scientific world as when contextualizing the meaning of her study Dr.Hoppe concluded that the corresponding photosynthetic habitat in the global ocean could be significantly larger than previously assumed. Have you ever considered how organisms adapt to such extreme environments? Let me know what you think in the comments below!

New Research Suggests Adopting C4 Plants’ Photosynthesis Could be the Key to C3 Crops’ Survival During Climate Change, and a Simpler Process than Previously Thought

By

On March 7, 2025

In Student Post

Researchers have recently discovered the specific evolutionary changes that occurred within C4 plants that allow them to perform photosynthesis in the specific way they do. The proteins that regulate the genes that are responsible for C4 plants’ specific photosynthesis are found in both C3 and C4 plants, meaning that in the future, scientists will be able to transition C3 plants to start performing C4 photosynthesis. 

C3 plants can be less efficient at photosynthesis than C4 plants as they are prone to accidentally perform photorespiration occasionally. This slows down the process of photosynthesis and wastes the plant’s energy. C4 plants do not have to face this issue as they use bundle sheath cells, which are the cells that form a layer surrounding the veins of the leaf, to perform photosynthesis along with the mesophyll cells which are normally responsible for the majority of photosynthesis. This allows C4 plants to avoid photorespiration completely and increase water-retention. Overall the way that C4 plants have adapted to perform photosynthesis has many benefits and the potential to help C3 plants when faced with more extreme climates due to global warming. 

Cross section of maize, a C4 plant.

Cross section of a C4 plant highlighting bundle sheath cells in purple and mesophyll cells in green

In order to figure out how C3 plants were initially able to evolve into C4 plants, researchers used single-cell genomics technology to analyze the differences between specific C3 plants and C4 plants. They found that it was not a change in the genes of the plants that caused them to become C4 plants, but rather a change in the process of regulatory proteins turning on or off certain genes within the cell. The specific family of these proteins are called DOFs, and the scientists found that they are present within both C3 plants and C4 plants. They even bind to the same section of DNA. The researchers found, however, that in C3 plants, the section of DNA was only associated with bundle sheath identity, while in C4 plants, it was also associated with photosynthesis. This allows both genes to be turned on within C4 plants at the same time, and therefore for bundle sheath cells to have the ability to photosynthesize. Since this ability was not a result of the addition or removal of a specific gene, scientists are hopeful that the process of adding this C4 photosynthesis ability in C3 plants will be relatively simple. What do you think of this discovery? Do you think it will be able to help with the growth of crops in the future as we combat climate change? 

This relates to the AP Biology subjects of photosynthesis and molecular fitness. Both C3 plants and C4 plants perform photosynthesis in order to create glucose and other sugars from the sun’s energy. C4 plants’ adaptation to also perform photosynthesis within bundle sheath cells is an example of molecular fitness, as it allows them to survive long enough to reproduce in more extreme environments.  

Tanning Tomatoes and Maize: Restricted Photosynthesis in Fluctuating Light

By

On March 7, 2025

In Student Post

Have you ever gotten a painful sunburn while lying on the beach? Have you been as burnt as a ripe tomato in the warm sun, yet one of your friends has a perfect, golden tan? In a recent study, researchers found that tomatoes and maize have leaves that react similarly to this common scenario, with photosynthetic activity being the product of a fluctuating light source.

Tomato plants in Bostanie community garden, Skopje

Tomato plants growing in “Bostanie” Community Garden, Skopje, Macedonia.

In this November study, researchers investigated the role of ATP synthase in chloroplast photosynthesis under changing light conditions, focusing on leaves from tomatoes and maize. According to the University of Cambridge, ATP synthase is a “complex molecular machine” found in the chloroplasts and mitochondria of a plant cell. This enzyme produces the primary energy source of the cell, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), by catalyzing the formation of ATP energy using adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and an inorganic phosphate.

ATP-Synthase

Illustrated diagram of ATP synthase catalyzing the formation of ATP and water molecules.

The team tracked the transitions between sun and shade environments for the crops from sun-to-shade and shade-to-sun, respectively. The researchers essentially measured the levels of gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, and “electrochromic shift signals” in the different light amounts for the tomato and maize leaves, noticing an interesting pattern.

From their tests, the research team found that in the sun-to-shade light transition environments, the ATP synthase activity increased in the leaves of the tomato plant. In the case of the maize leaves, the enzyme activity and available carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere were unaffected by the fluctuating light.

In the shade-to-sun light transition, the ATP synthase activity also increased in the leaves of the tomato plant. However, while the enzyme activity in the maize leaves remained high, the team found that the amount of atmospheric (CO2) in this transition was greatly restricted by “stomatal conductance, mesophyll conductance and Rubisco carboxylation in tomato” — which simultaneously increased with the increased activity of the ATP synthase enzyme.

Specifically, stomatal conductance is the rate at which gases, such as CO2, flow through the leaves’ stomata. In this way, having a high stomatal conductance means more CO2 can enter the leaf for photosynthesis. According to the RIPE project, mesophyll conductance is the “ease with which CO2 can diffuse from the leaf air space into the chloroplasts” — critical for photosynthesis. Lastly, rubisco carboxylation capacity describes the ability of the enzyme rubisco, which is responsible for carbon fixation in the Calvin cycle, to catalyze the reaction of CO2 with Ribulose, 1.5-biphosphate (RuBp) to synthesize sugar molecules at the end of photosynthesis. 

Tomato leaf stomate 1-color

Stomate in a tomato leaf.

Having a high stomatal conductance, mesophyll conductance, and rubisco carboxylation capacity allowed for the maize leaves, especially, to efficiently take in CO2 for photosynthesis in the different light transitions. The researchers noted these distinct factors in their study, deducing that targeting chloroplast ATP synthase and its efficiency was key for  “improving dynamic photosynthesis.”

As we have learned in AP Biology, photosynthesis is a two-stage, endergonic process in which plant cells use light energy, water, and carbon dioxide to release oxygen and produce glucose. The process includes the light-dependent reactions and the Calvin cycle, which both occur in various parts of chloroplasts. Particularly, the light-dependent reactions occur in the thylakoid membrane of a plant cell’s chloroplasts while the Calvin cycle takes place in the organelle’s stroma.

We learned in class that in this first stage, light energy is captured by the pigments in photosystem II to eventually make the energy-storage ATP molecule and the reduced electron carrier NADPH. Important to the study, ATP energy is generated in the light-dependent reactions through the process of chemiosmosis, which involves the movement of hydrogen ions down their concentration gradient and across the intermembrane space through ATP synthase — the very enzyme the researchers studied!

La Boqueria

Fruit on display at La Boqueria market in Barcelona, Spain.

Ultimately, research like this is crucial to our collective understanding of the biological processes that occur around us in nature. Learning about the current innovative work of these researchers is incredibly fascinating, as their work could be used to improve photosynthesis in wildlife in groundbreaking ways. So maybe next time you are buying fresh produce, you will think of all the amazing ways photosynthesis affects both you and your next meals!

Do Plants Have Internal Air Conditioning Now?

By

On February 26, 2025

In Student Post

Carlina corymbosa Corse

Photo: Myrabella / Wikimedia Commons /

CC BY-SA 3.0

The Carlina corymbosa thistle is found in southern Spain’s Sierra de Cazorla mountains and has flowers that stay cooler than the surrounding air (usually 3°C cooler but up to 10°C cooler). Carlos Herrera, an ecologist at the Spanish National Research Council, discovered this while studying the connection between plants and their pollinators. Herrera measured temperatures using an electric thermometer on several thistle flowers across different days and sites. The flowers were always cooler than the surrounding air even when it was hotter out. Herrera’s study suggests that the flowers are better at staying cool than other plants because they can actively control their temperature. The way they do this is what Herrera calls the “botijo effect”. Basically, when water evaporates from the flower, it cools down, and the flower’s structure makes sure that the sun doesn’t replace that lost heat. In the future, Herrera and Still want to explore different angles of the cooling effect including whether the cooling effect attracts pollinators who want to get away from the heat. 

This mechanism to survive hot temperatures reminds me of the C3 photosynthesis plants and C4 photosynthesis plants we learned about in AP Bio. C3 plants, like a lot of trees, do what is considered regular photosynthesis. While C3 plants are efficient in cooler and not dry areas, they struggle with high temperatures because they start doing photorespiration, which reduces the plant’s ability to fix carbon and make sugars efficiently. In contrast, C4 plants, like corn and sugarcane, have a more efficient system that lowers water loss and prevents photorespiration in hot temperatures. These plants physically separate the light reactions and the Calvin cycle in different parts of cells, which prevents photorespiration and water loss. Similarly, the cooling system in the C. corymbosa thistle is another cool adaptation to heat, showing how plants can evolve ways to adapt to their environment. I think it is cool that plants can have such useful adaptations, and I wonder how understanding these adaptations can help us find ways to help plants that don’t have these adaptations thrive in our warming climate. What do you think?

 

Plants’ Photosynthetic Machinery Functions inside Hamster Cells

By

On January 20, 2025

In Student Post

Scientists have achieved a fascinating breakthrough by transplanting chloroplasts from algae into hamster cells, allowing them to photosynthesize and produce energy for up to two days. This experiment, recently published in Proceedings of the Japan Academy, Series B, could open new doors in biotechnology and cellular engineering.

Features of a chloroplast

Researchers from the University of Tokyo sought to replicate the mechanism in mammalian cells after being inspired by sacoglossan sea slugs, which naturally use chloroplasts from their algae diet to produce energy. The scientists used robust chloroplasts from red algae, which flourish in harsh conditions, to successfully transplant chloroplasts into fungal cells, although earlier attempts to do so quickly destroyed the cells.

After carefully separating the chloroplasts, the researchers changed the growth media to allow the hamster ovary cells to naturally absorb the organelles rather than putting them in using force. After entering, the chloroplasts remained structurally sound and carried out electron transport, which is an essential part of photosynthesis, for 48 hours before breaking down.

There are still difficulties in spite of this progress. Animal cells lack the genes necessary to support chloroplasts long term, and thus depend on protein assistance to function. By inserting genes linked to photosynthesis into animal cells, researchers hope to fix this issue and possibly extend the survival and utility of the cells.

Looking ahead, these findings could lead to groundbreaking applications such as photosynthetic materials that capture carbon dioxide or boost oxygen production in lab-grown tissues. However, as it would require an unfeasible quantity of surface area covered in chloroplasts, the idea of solar-powered humans is still unattainable.

In our AP Biology class, we have learned about the endosymbiotic theory, which explains how organelles like mitochondria and chloroplasts originated from symbiotic relationships between primitive cells. According to this theory, a larger host cell engulfed smaller prokaryotic cells capable of energy production, and instead of digesting them, they formed a mutually beneficial relationship. Over time, these engulfed cells evolved into organelles, such as mitochondria for ATP production and chloroplasts for photosynthesis in plant cells. This theory is supported by evidence such as the presence of their own DNA and double membranes.

Trad Chloroplast primary endosymbiosis

 

The recent experiment connects to the endosymbiotic theory by demonstrating how animal cells can temporarily host chloroplasts and perform photosynthesis. It provides a modern-day parallel to the evolutionary process that occurred billions of years ago, suggesting that under the right conditions, symbiotic relationships could potentially be engineered in the lab. This research could deepen our understanding of cellular evolution and pave the way for innovative applications in synthetic biology.

Personally, I find this research incredibly exciting because it highlights how science can push the boundaries of what’s possible. Could we one day engineer cells to create their own energy from sunlight? What other possibilities might arise from blending plant and animal biology? I’d love to hear your thoughts—leave a comment!

What if?… Solar Power for Hamsters

By

On January 9, 2025

In Student Post

Lime chloroplasts under microscope

In a recent experiment, biologist Sachihiro Matsunaga and a team of researchers transplanted chloroplasts from algae into hamster cells. Inside the hamsters, the chloroplasts were able to convert light into energy for two days. This discovery builds on Matsunaga’s early study on sacoglossan sea slugs that “steal” chloroplasts from algae and use them for energy. The researchers improved on unsuccessful past transplanting methods by using chloroplasts from red algae that live in acidic volcanic hot springs and adjusted the algae to help hamster cells take in the chloroplasts. This allowed them to transplant the chloroplasts successfully. Animals can’t, however, start only using transplanted chloroplasts because animal cells don’t have the genes to produce proteins that chloroplasts need to function long-term. Matsunaga’s team wants to fix this by putting photosynthesis-maintaining genes into animal cells. Still,  humans will not be able to ever only use chloroplasts because people would need a much larger surface area covered with chloroplasts to make enough energy.

Shifting gears, this reminds me of learning about photosynthesis in our AP Bio Cellular Respiration Unit. Photosynthesis is an anabolic process that creates glucose and an oxygen waste product. To do photosynthesis, electrons and the H+ ions associated with them are transferred between compounds and elements. Losing elections is oxidation and gaining them is reduction. When an electron is lost it must be gained by something else. In photosynthesis, water is oxidized and the electrons lost go to reduce carbon dioxide into glucose. 

In conclusion, I think it would be cool if animals could use chloroplasts along with mitochondria to make energy! There are probably so many applications that transplanting chloroplasts could have if the process gets advanced enough. What do you think? 

 

Harnessing the Power of Photosynthesis for Sustainable Energy

By

On March 8, 2024

In Student Post

Researchers at the University of Rochester have started on a project aimed at creating clean hydrogen fuel by mimicking the processes of photosynthesis.  Their project, as detailed in a publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), delves into the realm of artificial photosynthesis, aiming to harness the power of nature to produce hydrogen fuel in an eco-friendly way. The project revolves around the use of Shewanella oneidensis, a bacteria, along with nanocrystal semiconductors. The bacteria serve as an efficient and cost free electron donor to the photocatalyst, a critical component in the artificial photosynthesis system. By using the unique processes of the microorganisms alongside nanomaterials, the team aims to pave the way for a clean energy solution to this ever so polluted world. The head researchers at Rochester aim to highlight hydrogen as an ideal fuel due to its environmental friendliness as well as a high energy per molecule source. However, it is extremely hard to extract in its pure form.

Leaf 1 web

Artificial photosynthesis represents a promising way for achieving this, witht he process of three key components: a light absorber, a catalyst for fuel production, and a source of electrons. The team’s system uses semiconductor nanocrystals for light absorption and catalysis, while utilizing Shewanella oneidensis as an electron donor. This remarkable bacteria possess the ability to transfer electrons generated from its metabolism to an external catalyst, facilitating the production of hydrogen gas from water when exposed to light. The project at the University of Rochester seeks to mimic the natural process of photosynthesis, a fundamental concept in AP BIO. Photosynthesis is the process by which plants use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water. The most important process in photosynthesis that the researchers are trying to mimic is the process to break down H2O into H+ ions. By understanding the fundamentals of AP BIO and its study of Photosynthesis we can learn to appreciate nature and its amazing processes such as the one that the researchers are attempting to mimic. This study, if succeeded, would be revolutionary as it is a sustainable practice and would significantly help reduce the use of fossil fuels which would greatly help with global warming. I hope that this project succeeds and am extremely grateful for learning the fundamentals of Biology in AP Bio for me to be able to understand how photosynthesis works and how the researchers will attempt to mimic this process in order to better the world.

Can You Hear Photosynthesis Occurring Underwater ?

By

On March 5, 2024

In Student Post

You may not realize it, but you have the ability to hear plants harnessing the sun’s energy to perform the reaction of photosynthesis. All you have to do is take a dive under water and listen carefully for the distinct “ping” noise made while down there. New studies have found that this “ping” is the sound that underwater plants, such as red algae, make when performing photosynthesis.

Montastraea annularis (boulder star coral) (San Salvador Island, Bahamas) 1

Algae and other underwater plants perform photosynthesis just like any other land plant. What this means is that they use the sun’s rays to chemically convert carbon dioxide and water into a sugar used for plant energy and oxygen as a waste product that flows throughout the planets atmosphere. In the underwater atmosphere, these oxygen molecules are tiny bubbles that race upwards in the water. Researchers have found that when these oxygen bubbles disconnect from the plants they make a sudden “ping” noise.

The noise was first recognized by researchers in Hawaii when the Hakai Magazine reported that healthy and protected coral reefs were making low frequency sounds, while damaged coral reefs were making higher pitched sounds.

One researcher from this magazine, Simon Freeman, said that “there seemed to be a correlation between the sound and the proportion of algae covering the sea floor.” To test this assumption, Freeman and his team transferred 22lbs of invasive red algae from the Hawaiian bay to a tank filled with sea water in attempt to hear the pinging sound without the noisy distractions of the ocean. As it turned out, this research team heard the same high frequency pings from this algae as they did from the distressed reefs.

Researchers claim that a large part of corals’ distress comes from all the algae that are smothering the corals, and this is why the distressed corals had a higher frequency noise: they had more algae covering its surface that perform photosynthesis and produce these oxygen bubbles. They believe with this finding that monitoring the sounds of the oxygen bubbles could be a fast and less invasive way of keeping track of the health of coral reefs.

This connects to what we have learned in AP Bio as in the process of photosynthesis, the chlorophyll of a plant absorbs light energy called photons, which excites the chlorophyll. The excited chlorophyll pass the photons from one chlorophyll to another until the energy reaches a special chlorophyll in the reaction complex center of Photosystem II known as the p680 chlorophyll. Once the photon reachers this special chlorophyll, p680 donates an electron to the primary electron acceptor in the thylakoid membrane to start the electron transport chain. In order to replace this donated electron, water molecules (one of the reactants of photosynthesis) are quickly split up resulting in an electron and replace the donated one, hydrogen, and oxygen as a waste product. This oxygen that is released at this point of the photosynthesis process is the oxygen that is released from all plants, including the underwater plants like the algae, when they perform photosynthesis. It is waste oxygen that is released from the algae underwater that forms the oxygen bubbles that detach from the plants and float upwards, and eventually make the “ping” noise underwater that you can hear when you dive in. Moreover, when we say you can “hear photosynthesis,” what you are really hearing is the oxygen bubbles created as a waste product of photosynthesis when they detach from the plants.

When going out to a beach and diving underwater, I would sometimes find myself hearing a faint little pinging or bubble popping noise. Could this noise I am hearing be the oxygen bubbles from the photosynthesis of underwater plants? What do you think?

The Cyathea Rojasiana: The Little “Fern” that Could (…Survive on its Own)

By

On February 27, 2024

In Student Post

Have you ever wondered how some plants survive severe environments? Well, the Cyathea rojasiana is a prime example of this, as it can transform dead leaves into roots that keep the plant alive. The article, “Back from the Dead: Tropical Tree Fern Repurposes Dead Leaves” explains this plant and its amazing abilities. Cyathea rojasiana, a unique tree fern from Panema, converts its dead leaves into little roots that seek out nutrient-rich soil.

Cyathea arborea 1

The plant was found by plant biologists, notably Professor James Dalling. According to Dalling, the plant’s process of self-nourishment happens after the leaves have fully died and blended with the soil. The fern then reorganizes its leaves, absorbing nutrients, particularly nitrogen, from the soil via its newly created roots. Furthermore, even though the tree fern’s dead leaves appear to be disintegrating, they’re actually helping the plant survive. Since Panama’s soil is deficient in nutrients, this process is essential to the tree’s survival. 

 

To continue, after reading the story, I was reminded of the photosynthesis unit I learned in AP Biology. Photosynthesis, in simple terms, is the process by which plants transform light energy into chemical energy in the form of glucose through photosystems (II and I) and the Calvin cycle. Despite their differences, the sentiments remain the same. While the Cyathea rojasiana’s adaptation does not replace photosynthesis, it complements it. The tree obtains nutrients from the soil via its roots, ensuring that it gets the building blocks required for development and survival.

Photosynthesis en

In conclusion, as someone who enjoys planting and loves nature, it was very interesting to learn about this unique tree because it reveals a unique survival skill I was unaware of. The tree has learned to absorb nutrients while growing in soil that lacks nutrients. This shows how well some plants can adjust to harsh conditions, giving ideas for new and creative gardening methods. Additionally, learning about the Cyathea rojasiana provides information that can be used to enhance gardening. So, is this something you want to try and implement into your gardening routine? Let me know in the comments!!

 

The Power Of Artificial Photosynthesis

By

On February 27, 2024

In Student Post

In AP Biology, we learned that photosynthesis has evolved in plants as a means of converting water, sunlight energy, and carbon dioxide into glucose and oxygen, but also into plant biomass and the food we eat. Therefore we also know that the photosynthesis process, especially in C3 plants, is highly inefficient as only about 1% of sunlight energy is actually incorporated into the plant. Researchers at the University of Riverside and the University of Delaware have actually discovered a new way to bypass the reliance on biological photosynthesis and have devised a method of using artificial photosynthesis to produce food independent from sunlight. Isn’t that amazing!

The artificial photosynthesis process involves a two-step electrocatalytic procedure that transforms carbon dioxide, solar panel-generated electricity, and water into acetate, which is a salt and chemical compound (C2H3O2−). Sec-Butyl acetate 3D ball(Electrocatalysis is a catalytic process that requires oxidation and reduction reactions through the transfer of electrons). Food-producing organisms consume the acetate in the dark to grow. This method significantly increases the conversion efficiency of sunlight into food, achieving up to 18 times greater efficiency. An integral component of this process is the electrolyzer device, which employs electricity to convert carbon dioxide into essential molecules for the food-producing organisms.

Green algae, yeast, and fungal mycelium were among the various food-producing organisms cultivated in the dark, confirming the efficacy of the artificial photosynthesis process. The production of algae using this technology is about four times more energy-efficient, while yeast production is approximately eighteen times more energy-efficient than growing it with the traditional biological photosynthesis methods.

Artificial photosynthesis offers a potential solution to the challenges posed by climate change in agriculture. By freeing crops from reliance on sunlight, artificial photosynthesis opens the door to possibilities for growing food under difficult conditions such as climate-related issues like drought, floods, and limited land availability. Isn’t the establishment of artificial photosynthesis an amazing feat! Feel free to leave a comment on my post and, if you do, list one fact that you found really interesting about artificial photosynthesis!

1.78 Billion Year Old Bacteria: the Origins of Photosynthesis

By

On January 7, 2024

In Student Post

E. coli Bacteria (7316101966)

Pretty music everyone is aware of the term photosynthesis. We identify photosynthesis as the process plants take to make food by utilizing the sun’s energy. New findings take us back in time to the earliest signs of this process. The article published on January 3 2024 reveals that bacteria fossils hold some of the oldest signs of machinery required for photosynthesis. Cyanobacterias’s invention of photosynthesis is responsible for the oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere which is a large sum of information derived from fossils. 

The bacteria fossils are compression of carbon that don’t contain any mineralized structures such as bone or shells. The fossils also revealed that there are complex structures inside of the microscopic bacteria such as thylakoids which are located inside of the chloroplast and allow photosynthesis to take place. It is exciting to see such old thylakoids inside of the bacteria fossils but it is not unheard of as some researchers believe that thylakoids may have evolved before the Great Oxidation Event which occurred around 2.4 billion years ago and marked a significant increase in Earth’s oxygen levels.

During the period that the bacteria fossils lived in, oxygen levels in Earth’s atmosphere were at a fraction of today’s levels which helps explain why the fossils hint that there may have been small pockets where oxygen was abundant, possibly allowing the evolution of the ancestors of plants and animals. Most of the rocks that scientists believe may harbor fossils similar to the ones discovered have been compressed destroying intracellular structures like thylakoids which makes the findings even more rousing. 

A similar article published the following day identifies the bacteria fossils to be between 1.73 and 1.78 billion years old. Furthermore, the article points out that prior to this discovery, the presence of thylakoids in cyanobacteria was traced back to only around 600 million years ago, but now the earliest evidence of thylakoids in cyanobacteria is 1.2 billion years older. The fossils are also defined as Navifusa Majensis, a presumed type of cyanobacteria. N. majensis fossils add a vital data point in the timeline that aims to discover the exact timing of oxygenic photosynthesis’s evolution.

A second article published on the same day explains that the bacteria fossils “were laid down in mud and squeezed as the mud was transformed into shale over time.” The intriguing part, though, is that the internal structures of the cells were preserved throughout this process. 

To help further explain the job of thylakoids in plant cells, in AP Biology class, we learned about the specifics of the chloroplast, the organelle in plant cells that is responsible for photosynthesis and plants green color. Furthermore, we learned that grana, located below the inner membrane of the chloroplast, are stacks of thylakoids. A large surface area of thylakoid disks results in better productivity in the cell. In the article linked in the previous paragraph, astrobiologist Emmanuelle Javaux is referenced as speaking about “dark lines stacked through tiny sausage-shaped cells” that they believe represent thylakoids. An image in the Cells Notes Packet displays the same description that Javaux is providing with dark rectangles being spread across an image of the chloroplast. 

I believe that these new findings are a great advancement in the mystery that is the evolution of photosynthesis in plants. These findings are one of the first steps of discovering the exact timing of oxygenic photosynthesis’s evolution. I look forward to seeing if more fossils are discovered with thylakoids and other complex structures still intact, what do you think?

 

New Generation of Coral!

By

On March 17, 2023

In Student Post

As global warming continues to increase the temperature of the atmosphere and water column across our planet, the coral populations in our oceans are decreasing. Normally, to survive, coral hosts microscopic algae in its structure, which provides the coral with the energy it needs to grow. The algae produce glucose through photosynthesis, which the corals use to survive and to build their skeletons. This coral then releases oxygen that the algae takes back in. The stability of this symbiotic relationship is critical to corals’ survival. When a coral loses these symbiotic algae due to increases in water temperature, it causes the coral to turn white, as the coral struggles to meet its energy needs, which can often prove fatal. This phenomenon is called “bleaching.”

Bleached Staghorn Coral
Scientists studying coral bleaching have found evidence that some species of coral appear to be adapting to climate change and increasing their tolerance to warming ocean waters by changing the symbiotic algae communities they host. This allows the photosynthetic process to continue and provides them with the energy they need to live. This more resilient species of coral have been found in eastern tropical Pacific places such as Costa Rica, Mexico, and Colombia. These locations are projected to have higher coral cover through 2060. Pocillopora is one such species of coral and is an important genus found within the shallow coral reefs in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean.
I selected this article for my blog as it embodies several key biological concepts that we have studied and discussed in detail in class this year. These include the photosynthetic process and its important energy-producing biochemical reactions, the various types of successful symbiotic relationships between different organisms, and the role that DNA and genetics play in the evolutionary process of advancing successful biological adaptation.

DNA Structure+Key+Labelled.pn NoBB
Consistent with Darwin’s theory of evolution, it appears that Mother Nature, once again, may have found a way to overcome climate change, at least in this specific instance, and we may be witnessing it firsthand!

Understanding a Plant’s Stomata to Counteract Affects of Climate Change?!

By

On March 5, 2023

In Student Post

In mid January, 2023, researchers from the University of California San Diego made an important discovery surrounding photosynthesis, specifically the plants stomata, with climate change implications.

Tomato leaf stomate 1-color

Scientists have understood photosynthesis for many years. As we learned in AP Bio, photosynthesis is the process by which plants, algae, and some bacteria convert light energy from the sun into chemical energy in the form of glucose. The process of photosynthesis can be divided into two stages: the light dependent reactions, and the Calvin cycle.

The light-dependent reactions occur in the thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts and involve the conversion of light energy into chemical energy in the form of ATP and NADPH. During these reactions, water molecules are split  into hydrogen ions, electrons, and oxygen gas. The electrons move through a series of electron carriers and ultimately end up on NADP+ to form NADPH. At the same time, hydrogen ions are pumped from the stroma into the thylakoid lumen, creating a concentration gradient that drives the synthesis of ATP through a process called photophosphorylation.

The Calvin cycle, occurs in the stroma of chloroplasts and involve the conversion of carbon dioxide into glucose. During these reactions, carbon dioxide is fixed into organic molecules by the enzyme rubisco. The resulting molecules are then reduced by NADPH and ATP produced during the light-dependent reactions to form glucose. The Calvin cycle also requires a source of hydrogen ions, which are provided by the light-dependent reactions through the production of NADPH.

The researchers at the university of California San Diego, have furthered this understanding by explaining how the stomata is able to sense when to open and close in order to allow carbon dioxide and water to enter and exit the plant. When the stomata is open for carbon dioxide to enter, it exposes the plant to the outside world, and water from the plant is lost, which can end up drying out the plant.

This research is important because as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases, it could lead to the stomata of vital plants being left open too much, which would dehydrate the plant.

Fortunately, the research pointed to a specific protein, known as HT1, that was able to activate the enzyme that opens up the stomata in a low CO2 environment. The researchers also found a second protein that blocked the HT1 from keeping the stomata open in environments with higher CO2 concentrations. This second protein that was found is the reason plants will die when the atmosphere has too much CO2, as the stomata wouldn’t be open for long enough to get the necessary resources for photosynthesis.

This can relate to what we learn in AP Bio, in regards to enzymes and proteins. In AP bio, we learned that proteins are large molecules made of amino acids. Enzymes are a type of protein that catalyze chemical reactions. Enzymes also lower the activation energy needed for a reaction to occur. They interact with specific substrates to form enzyme-substrate complexes. The active site of an enzyme undergoes conformational changes, allowing for catalysis. Specific substrates can only bind to a particular enzyme. Enzyme activity can be affected by temperature, pH, and concentration. Enzymes work most effectively within a specific range of those things. Changes outside that range can affect structure and function. Enzymes and proteins play critical roles in many processes. Examples include DNA replication, protein synthesis, and metabolic pathways. Understanding enzyme-substrate interaction is crucial to understanding how the HT1 that activates the enzyme was able to speed up the reactions that caused the stomata to open up.

As Richard Cyr, the program director stated, “Determining how plants control their stomata under changing CO2 levels creates a different kind of opening — one to new avenues of research and possibilities for addressing societal challenges.” Hopefully this research can result in positive steps for the agricultural community as it takes on the challenge that is climate change.

 

Revolutionizing Photosynthesis: The Power of Rubisco Enzyme Engineering

By

On March 5, 2023

In Student Post

Enzyme engineering has the power to create several new discoveries and possibilities in the evolutionary field. Questions that were not answerable through decades of really hard biochemistry have now become accessible by integrating this evolutionary perspective. In the past, Rubisco faced many issues, such as starting to catalyze an undesired reaction, in which it mistakes O2 for CO2 and produces metabolites that are toxic to the cell. In the article by the Max Plank Society, researchers have discovered that the Rubiscos that show increased CO2 specificity recruited a novel protein component of unknown function, through resurrecting and studying billion-year-old enzymes in the lab using a combination of computational and synthetic techniques.

According to this article by Alejandra Manjarrez that analyzes that research, form I rubisco has the highest specificity for carbon dioxide and the most efficient catalytic activity. Form I Rubisco is made up of eight identical catalytic large subunits and eight identical small subunits. Researchers suspected that its enhanced ability to discriminate CO2 from chemically similar molecular oxygen could be related to the presence of these small subunits since no other forms of Rubisco have them.

1aa1

For years, research focused on changing amino acids in Rubisco itself, but new findings suggest that adding new protein components to the enzyme could be more productive. Rubisco is the most prevalent enzyme on the planet and is the key enzyme responsible for photosynthetic and chemoautotrophic carbon fixation and oxygen metabolism. It catalyzes the fixation of atmospheric CO2 to ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP) to form two molecules of 3-phosphoglycerate (3PGA). This is the first part of the Calvin cycle which, as you learned in class, involves using atmospheric carbon dioxide, ATP, and NADPH to create G3P, which is the building block of glucose, through the processes of carbon fixation, reduction, and regeneration of the CO2 acceptor. With the new improvements in the efficiency of Rubisco and enzyme engineering as a whole, plants may be able to combat the increasing amount of carbon dioxide emissions hurting the earth through improved photosynthesis.

Artificial Photosynthesis

By

On March 5, 2023

In Student Post

On January 25, 2023, Science Daily released an article about new research discovered by Osaka Metropolitan University regarding the Synthesis of fumaric acid by a new method of artificial photosynthesis, using sunlight to make biodegradable plastic. 

Global warming has caused a growing issue in our environment due to greenhouse gasses such as CO2. This research states that by using artificial photosynthesis CO2 can be reduced, hence limit global warming. This discovery shows that fumaric acid can be synthesized from CO2 and biomass-derived compounds using renewable solar energy.

Greenhouse-effect-t2

As we have learned in Biology class, photosynthesis is an anabolic reaction because it builds up glucose, a bigger molecule, from water and carbon dioxide. Although –overall– photosynthesis is an anabolic reaction, catabolic reactions occur throughout photosynthesis because the large molecules, CO2 and H2o are broken down into their individual components- oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen- and then rearranged to create glucose using energy from the sun. In the Calvin Cycle, the goal is to produce G3P, from CO2, which will eventually become glucose, or sugar, however, this can’t be done without NADPH. 

Calvin-cycle4-ptbr

Research discovered by Professor Yutaka Amao, stated that CO2 could be reduced by mimicking this process and can reduce CO2 by combining it with organic compounds. While fumaric acid is typically synthesized from petroleum to be used as a raw material for making biodegradable plastic, this research team was successful in synthesizing fumaric acid,  from CO2, powered by sunlight. This process is known as artificial photosynthesis. 

It is really interesting how mimicking the process of photosynthesis can lead to  CO2 being reduced when combined with organic compounds, and used as raw materials, which can be converted into sustainable structures such as plastic!



Harnessing the Power of Photosynthesis for Environmental Gain

By

On March 23, 2022

In Student Post

Human use of fossil fuel as a form of energy to sustain industry and modern lifestyle has had a detrimental effect on environmental efficiency. Nature’s ecosystems are dying and the atmosphere is polluted, causing climate change that further negatively impacts the ecosystems. With fossil fuel sources being depleted, humans must find new energy sources to sustain their current way of living while minimizing the potential harmful effects on the environment. Perhaps, surprisingly, a solution to these problems may be found in the untapped power of plants to sustain themselves through use of sunlight and water in a process called photosynthesis.

Sun shining

Photosynthesis is the process by which photons of light (coming from the rays of the sun) and water molecules are converted, through a complex, multi-step process, into glucose, a form of stored energy. Today, scientists are working on various ways to mimic the natural process of photosynthesis through artificial photosynthesis. Their goal is to find clean, affordable, efficient and sustainable ways to create energy that would allow humans to subsist as they do. 

 

Harnessing the power of the sun is full of potential because the sun’s energy is so great that the amount of sunlight hitting the earth in one hour can satisfy the energy needs of all humans for one year. 

 

Currently, the process most similar to artificial photosynthesis is photovoltaic technology which allows a solar cell to convert the sun’s energy into electricity. A small PV cell usually produces between 1 and 2 watts of power when sandwiched between protective materials like glass and plastics. In order to harness maximum energy, these PV cells, which are composed of semiconductor materials, are often chained into arrays that have the capacity to be bound to a larger electrical grid.  However, this process is inefficient because it harnesses only 20% of the sun’s energy, in part because the semiconductors in solar panels have limited ability to absorb and store sunlight energy.

 

By contrast, photosynthesis can store 60% of sunlight as chemical energy in biomolecules. In her research, Yulia Pukshar, a biophysicist at Purdue University, has been replicating the photosynthesis process by creating an analog that collects sunlight then splits water molecules to create hydrogen. Hydrogen is useful as a fuel to be used in fuel cells or as a fuel to be combined with other fuels (like natural gas) to provide power to homes, cars, electronic devices, etc. Much of Pushkar’s research has focused on determining which combinations of catalysts and photosystem II proteins work best to generate hydrogen from water molecules. She seeks to use chemicals and compounds that are abundant, easily accessible, inexpensive and non-toxic. Artificial photosynthesis is being developed with “nontoxic, easily available elements” which sets it apart from preexisting forms of “clean” energy. 

 

Currently, researchers have determined that the most durable oxygen evolving complexes (the portion of photosystem II that promotes photo-oxidation of water during photosynthesis) are those composed of cobalt-oxide based water oxidation catalysts. The use of such catalysts, that most closely resemble the true catalyst present in photosystem II, is highly costly and impractical when applied at a large scale. What seems to be a breakthrough in man-made, photosynthetic technology is merely in its infancy. If human civilization is to ever make a dent in this environmental crisis, new sources of sustainable energy must be implemented globally.  

 

Ever since I moved to Brookville from New York City, I developed a greater appreciation for the beauty and peacefulness of nature in my surroundings. My understanding of the process of photosynthesis has reinforced my sentiments as I now fully comprehend the value of plants to human life. As my family plants more trees on our property, I recognize that such plantings are helping the environment by absorbing CO2 and providing vital oxygen to the atmosphere. For this reason, among others, I support reforestation initiatives around the world as well as the Forest Program at FA.

How Do Guard Cells Attain Energy?

By

On February 15, 2022

In Student Post

Ever since we were young, we understood that plants utilize photosynthesis for energy, releasing oxygen in the process. But, we did not learn which parts of the plant actually perform photosynthesis. This is highlighted by guard cells, the cell located in the upper epidermis that controls the concentration of Carbon Dioxide in the plant. So how do they contribute to photosynthesis?

Stomata & Guard Cells

The team of Dr. Boon Leong Lim at HKU wanted to observe the real-time production of ATP and NADPH in the mesophyll cell chloroplasts, which was done by using planta protein sensors in a model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. This plant is specifically used due to its small genome, short life cycle, simple process to mutagenize, and easily identifiable genes. Shockingly, the Guard Cells Chloroplasts have not detected any ATP or NADPH production whatsoever. Looking for answers, the researchers decided to contact Dr. Diana Santelia, an expert in cell metabolism. Throughout a decade of research and collaboration, they finally have an answer.

Unlike mesophyll cells, photosynthesis in the Guard Cells is inadequately regulated. This is because synthesized sugars from the mesophyll cells are imported into the Guard cells, in which is used ATP production for the opening of the stomata. Additionally, Guard Cells chloroplasts take cytosolic ATP through nucleotide transporters on the chloroplast membrane for starch synthesis throughout the day. At night, though, Guard Cells degrade starch into sugars for the opening of the stomata. Mesophyll Cells, on the other hand, synthesize starch and export sucrose at dawn. Thus, the chloroplasts of Guard Cells ultimately serve as starch storage for the opening of the stomata. Their function is closely linked to that of MCs in order to effectively coordinate CO2 absorption through stomata and CO2 fixation in MCs. 

Although the Guard Cells seem redundant, their role in the overall process of photosynthesis is absolutely necessary. As seen in AP Bio, the stomata are essential for gas exchange for photosynthetic reactions. The stomata’s main role is to take in Carbon Dioxide and release Oxygen, both of which are necessities for the reaction to occur. 

Thank you so much for reading this blog, and let me know what you think in the comments below!

Could A Simple Plant Principle Help Us Better Manipulate The Brain?

By

On February 15, 2022

In Student Post

The researchers and scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine are working on a family of light-sensing molecules with great haste. This research can advance the very complicated field of optogenetics. There are light-sensitive proteins that play a very important role in the field of biology as a whole. This has to do with topics ranging from its use in photosynthesis to even our own vision. In photosynthesis these proteins are how plants are able to absorb the photons given off from the sunlight and react by using it as an energy source. Most of the information on these types of proteins are from the specific protein bacteriorhodopsin, which is seen in these photosynthetic reactions. However we can only study this protein to a certain point given the technology we have which has lead researchers to a road block. This new study which is being called; line-scanning high-speed atomic force microscopy, will help pass this block. 

Rat primary cortical neuron culture, deconvolved z-stack overlay (30614937102)

 

The problem that was occurring when studying this field was that the tracking of activity of individual molecules was too slow to see the protein actually change, for example how bacteriorhodopsin reacts to light. The new approach involves sacrificing the image detail of the altering molecules for a much faster frame rate. It is as if one was taking blurrier pictures of a horse in order to capture its entire journey. According to Dr. Perez Perrino they are tracking the protein every 1.6 milliseconds in order to speed of bacteriorhodopsin in its natural, wild-style habitat. As a result of light it will switch between open and closed states. With this new method of imaging they have concluded that the transition to the open state and the its duration always happen at the same speed. However the molecule remains in the closed state for a longer period of time as the light increases.

Optogenetics begins to play a role because researchers in this field insert genes for light-sensing molecules in neurons or other cells, causing them to alter the cell’s activity. This work could potentially help us control the brain in ways we could never imagine. This could lead to eventually treating neurological diseases in the near future.

Page 1 of 2

Next →

Archives

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén

Skip to toolbar