Life Sciences Commons^™

As land available for agriculture remains limited, it is becoming more necessary to explore methods to improve the efficiency of crop production in order to support Earth’s growing populations. Newly characterized photosynthetic genes could improve our understanding of the way organisms convert light energy into fuel, allowing improvements in plant growth and environmental resistance. Using an insertion mutant library of the unicellular algae, Chlamydomonas reindhartii, that covers 83% of its genome, we are identifying and characterizing the hundreds of genes associated with photosynthesis. Chlamydomonas can be grown with or without a light source, which allows us to identify mutants displaying …