Laboratory of Photosynthesis

Laboratory of photosynthesis does fundamental research in microbial photosynthesis and also applies it to constructing photosynthetic measuring devices. The important characteristic of the laboratory is its multidisciplinary approach, which combines biophysics, molecular biology, evolutionary biology, biochemistry, physiology and classical microbiology. Topics in five principal, overlapping areas are studied by individual groups, each led by a single senior scientist:

Assembly and quality control of photosynthetic membrane complexes - Josef Komenda

Mostly using a model cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803 it deals with mechanisms and regulation of the assembly of membrane pigment-protein complexes and their quality control. It focuses on the role of structural subunits and auxiliary protein factors in the process of Photosystem II assembly and on the elucidation of structure and function of homologues of the bacterial proteases FtsH in the degradation of structural as well as regulatory proteins participating in the biogenesis of photosynthetic apparatus..

Microbial photosynthesis - Ondřej Prášil

The research objectives of our group are focused mainly on photosynthetic processes in cyanobacteria and other microalgae on a scale ranging from molecular mechanisms to biogeochemical implications. At the subcellular level we rely heavily on fluorescence microscopy to investigate the mobility of photosynthetic proteins and their organization within the thylakoid membrane. Furthermore, our research extends to the physiology of phototrophs at a single-cell level, such as the role of cell-to-cell heterogeneity in N2-fixing cyanobacteria. Another key interest of our group is how environmental factors such as light and nutrient availability regulate photosynthetic processes and photoprotective mechanisms at the population level.

Biosynthesis and function of photosynthetic pigments - Roman Sobotka

It deals with the study of chlorophyll biosynthesis pathway, which is rather complicated and partially overlap with the pathway for synthesis other important cofactors like heme and phycobilins. The aim of the work is to elucidate mechanisms of regulation of chlorophyll biosynthesis and to identify pathways by which the chlorophyll is built in membrane pigment-protein complexes and by which is removed from them during their degradation.

Dynamics of Photosynthetic Membranes - Radek Kaňa

It studies mobility and photoprotection of photosynthetic proteins. We use single-cell microscopic methods (FRAP, FCS) to resolve process of proteins diffusion and reorganization in thylakoid. We also study mechanism of photosynthetic energy conversion in light-harvesting antennae, how it is optimized by non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) or during state transitions.

Algal evolution and ecology - Jan Janouškovec

We study how different groups of algae gained or lost photosynthesis, how endosymbiosis works, and what evolutionary innovations drive algal success in natural environments. Our work involves single-celled and multicellular algae, but also cyanobacteria and algae-derived parasites. We use genomics, microscopy and molecular cell biology with the general aim to understand their diversity, evolution and significance to humans.