Professor Roberta Croce is in the Biophysics group at Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. Her research aims to understand the molecular mechanisms of the light reactions of photosynthesis with particular emphasis on light absorption, excitation energy transfer and photoprotection.
In the CAPITALISE project, Roberta’s group will perform functional analysis of mutants with reduced chlorophyll content, produced by gene editing and of other mutants identified through phenotyping.
Title: Non-photochemical quenching in plants: where is the quencher located?
Webinar date: Tuesday 7th June 2022 14.00 CET
Abstract: Excess excitation energy in the light-harvesting antenna of Photosystem II (PSII) can cause irreversible damage to the photosynthetic apparatus. In periods of high light intensity, a feedback mechanism known as non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), induces the formation of quenchers which can safely dissipate excess excitation energy as heat. I will present our recent results that provide a quantitative description of the contribution of different photosynthetic complexes to NPQ.