Organisms

We work with the two model plants barley (Hordeum vulgare) and tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and with the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. The genomes of all three organisms have been fully sequenced and are accessible for modifications and the targeted deletion of genes. The deletion of selected enzymes followed by the characterization of the mutants allows us to investigate their physiological significance. As prokaryotes, cyanobacteria have shorter generation times and it is extremely easy to generate mutants. This facilitates and accelerates studies and is one reason why cyanobacteria are important model organisms in plant physiology. Oxygenic photosynthesis originally evolved in cyanobacteria. In the course of evolution, a precursor plant cell incorporated a cyanobacterial cell endosymbiotically. The cyanobacterial endosymbiont evolved into the chloroplast, in which photosynthesis and CO₂ fixation take place in plants. The central carbohydrate metabolism of cyanobacteria and plants is thus partly highly similar. Comparative investigations of the carbohydrate metabolism in cyanobacteria and plants have not only the potential to deepen the explanatory power of research results but even allow conclusions about the evolution of the studied processes. In addition, cyanobacteria are biotechnologically highly interesting, as they are able to save solar energy via photosynthesis in form of hydrogen. To use this photosynthetic hydrogen into fuel cells has the potential for a sustainable and eco-friendly exploitation of solar energy.