Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology
Engineering Natural Competence Into The Fast-Growing Cyanobacterium Synechococcus Elongatus Utex 2973, Kristen Elizabeth Wendt
Engineering Natural Competence Into The Fast-Growing Cyanobacterium Synechococcus Elongatus Utex 2973, Kristen Elizabeth Wendt
Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Synechococcus elongatus UTEX 2973 is the fastest growing cyanobacterium discovered to date. Using water, carbon dioxide, and light alone, this organism can double in 1.5 hours under optimal conditions. The accelerated doubling exhibited by Synechococcus 2973 makes it a prime candidate to serve as a model photoautotrophic system. However, Synechococcus 2973 lacks one highly desirable feature: it cannot undergo natural transformation. This thesis seeks to engineer this capacity into this fast-growing system in order to create an organism that is both fast growing and naturally competent. Synechococcus 2973 is a unique platform because it is >99% genetically identical to another …
Diverse Far-Red Light Utilization Strategies In Cyanobacteria And Algae, Benjamin Martin Wolf
Diverse Far-Red Light Utilization Strategies In Cyanobacteria And Algae, Benjamin Martin Wolf
Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In their natural environments, photosynthetic organisms are often exposed to widely varied light environments. Species adapted to shade light, often found growing in lower layers of photosynthetic biofilms, must survive on filtered light alone. Filtered light is highly enriched in far-red wavelengths, which are normally unavailable for photosynthetic energy production in most oxygenic phototrophs. To overcome light limitations in filtered light environments, some species of algae and cyanobacteria utilize specialized photosynthetic pigments and antenna systems to harvest these far-red wavelengths. By sampling the natural environment and using custom-built far-red light growth chambers, I have isolated several species of oxygenic phototrophs …