Disentangling light- and CO2-mediated signalling in green microalgae

In photosynthesis research, CO2 is mainly thought as substrate for photosynthesis; much less is known about the signalling role of this gaseous molecule and about the interconnection of light and CO2 -dependent signalling in photosynthetic algae.

In the proposed project, we aim to unveil the signaling role of CO2 in a recently discovered pathway that controls light-responsive gene expression in complete absence of light.Overall objective of the project is to advance our understanding of how photosynthetic algae sense and integrate CO2 and light signals to regulate genome-wide gene expression with an initial focus on the regulation of two fundamental processes in photosynthesis; the acclimation to low CO2 and photoprotection.

By combining genetic, physiological, genome-wide transcriptome (RNA-seq), proteomics, chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) and mathematical modelling approaches, we are expecting to identify metabolic pathways, underlying genes regulating their activity, and signal transduction pathways that are involved in the acclimation to changing light and carbon availabilities.Based on the originality of the research question and the innovative prediction tools that will be developed the proposed project is expected to have an important impact internationally in the fields of signalling biology, photosynthesis, CO2 metabolism, gene expression regulation, and reconstruction of the underlying interactions at a genome-scale.