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Projects: Projects for Investigator
Reference Number	BB/K000179/1
Title	Dissecting the function of the LH2 pucBA multigene family in Rhodospeudomonas palustris.
Status	Completed
Energy Categories	Renewable Energy Sources(Solar Energy) 70%; Renewable Energy Sources(Solar Energy, Photovoltaics) 25%; Hydrogen and Fuel Cells(Fuel Cells, Stationary applications) 5%;
Research Types	Basic and strategic applied research 100%
Science and Technology Fields	BIOLOGICAL AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES (Biological Sciences) 100%
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation	Not Cross-cutting 100%
Principal Investigator	Professor RJ Cogdell No email address given Institute of Biomedical & Life Sciences University of Glasgow
Award Type	Research Grant
Funding Source	BBSRC
Start Date	01 January 2013
End Date	31 December 2015
Duration	36 months
Total Grant Value	£352,655
Industrial Sectors	Transport Systems and Vehicles
Region	Scotland
Programme
Investigators	Principal Investigator	Professor RJ Cogdell , Institute of Biomedical & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow (100.000%)
Web Site
Objectives	The main beneficiaries of this proposed research project will be the academic community interested in a basic understanding of the importance of light harvesting in photosynthesis. This understanding is important for anybody who wishes to try to produce systems capable of performing artificial photosynthesis at higher efficiencies than can currently be achieved by the natural process. Ultimately this information could be of importance to any companies wishing to manufacture systems capable of producing solar fuels. These impacts will be realised by us disseminating all the results of this project in open access publications, conference proceedings and direct interactions with industry through Glasgow University's annual industry days. The concept of solar fuels and the land area this will require involves imoportant communication with the general public and policy makers. RJC has strong interactions with local school teachers and to the media via the BBC. He will use these contacts to publicise these issues and to promote as much public debate upon them as possible. The Post. Doc. on this grant, Dr. Sarah Henry , will be fully involved in these interations with both industry and the general public. As a result of this and the general training in a wide range of different experimental methods she will be a excellent researcher to move over to work in industry at the end of this grant.
Abstract	Many species of purple photosynthetic bacterial have a multigene family that encode the LH2 apaoproteins. Rhodopsuedomonas palstris is such a species and is able to synthesise LH2 complexes where individual LH2 rings have a heterogeous apoprotein composition. The different rings hsave different near infared absotption spectra. This research project sets out a program of experiments designed to determine how the different arrangement of the differebnt apoproteins in the individual LH2 rings controls where the ring absorbs light energy. A set of deletion strains, where specific LH2 apoprotein genes have been deleted, will allow LH2 complexes with defined ,restricted apoprotein compositions to be synthesised. The structure and spectroscopic properties of these LH2 complexes will be correlated with their specific apoprotein composition. By a combination of these studies and mathematical modelling it will be possible to fully describe how their precise structure controls where they absorb in the near infared region of the spectrum. Finally energy transfer measurements on membranes prepared from the diferent deletion strains will be used to determine how the different spectroscopic forms effect overall light harvesting performance, and thereby to understand the selective advantage to ability to synthesise the different types of LH2 confers.
Publications	(none)
Final Report	(none)
Added to Database	17/03/14