Golden Oldie: Key Role for Ancient Protein in Algae Photosynthesis
Friday, November 27, 2009 - 15:21
in Biology & Nature
The discovery that an ancient light harvesting protein plays a pivotal role in the photosynthesis of green algae should help the effort to develop algae as a biofuels feedstock. Researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have identified the protein LHCSR as the molecular "dimmer switch" that acts to prevent green algae from absorbing too much sunlight during photosynthesis and suffering oxidation damage as a consequence.