Novel Photoprotective Mechanisms and Functional Biodiversity of High Light Tolerance in the Model Alga Chlamydomonas

Although photoprotection and high light stress tolerance are essential to survival, productivity and fitness of photosynthetic organisms, mechanisms and genetic factors are poorly understood. Very high light resistant (VHLR) mutants in the alga Chlamydomonas will be used to identify functional and genetic components of novel pathways to photoprotection. This new genetic knowledge will be applied to assess functional biodiversity of the VHLR trait. With this holistic approach, we expect to elucidate new mechanisms of high light resistance in the context of general implications for plant fitness and potential introduction into crop plants