Laboratory of Photosynthesis - Josef Komenda

Laboratory of photosynthesis deals with the basic research of microbial photosynthesis with extension to the applied research concerning construction of photosynthetic measuring devices. The important characteristics of the laboratory is the multidisciplinary approach which covers disciplines from biophysics, molecular biology, biochemistry up to physiology and classical microbiology. There are six principal topics which are studied in particular groups led by a single senior scientist:

Aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs - Michal Koblížek
It studies occurrence and ecological importance of of photoheterotrophic bakteria. It deals with their isolation and characterization using optical, molecular biological and biochemical methods. It follows photoheterotrophic bacteria in their natural population as well as in isolated species cultivated in the laboratory.

Assembly and quality control of photosynthetic membrane complexes - Josef Komenda
Mostly using a model cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803 it deals with mechanisms and regulation of the assembly of membrane pigment-protein complexes and their quality control. It focuses on the role of structural subunits and auxiliary protein factors in the process of Photosystem II assembly and on the elucidation of structure and function of homologues of the bacterial proteases FtsH in the degradation of structural as well as regulatory proteins participating in the biogenesis of photosynthetic apparatus..

Ecophysiology of algae - Ondřej Prášil
It analyzes and compares molecular mechanisms regulating photosynthetic processes like dissipation of the absorbed energy, diazotrophy or allocation of energy into metabolic processes in ecologically important, but evolutionary distinct photosynthetic microorganisms under natural conditions, under variable light conditions and various levels of nutrient limitations. It follows regulation of photosynthesis at the level of single cell as well as whole populations. Moreover, it deals with the mobility of particular protein complexes at the microscopic level and studies effect of this mobility on the function of photosynthesis.

Biosynthesis and function of phtosynthetic pigments - Roman Sobotka
It deals with the study of chlorophyll biosynthesis pathway, which is rather complicated and partially overlap with the pathway for synthesis other important cofactors like heme and phycobilins. The aim of the work is to elucidate mechanisms of regulation of chlorophyll biosynthesis and to identify pathways by which the chlorophyll is built in membrane pigment-protein complexes and by which is removed from them during their degradation.

Genetics of cyanobacteria - Martin Tichý
It deals with regulation of expression (both downregulation and overexpression) of proteins in cyanobacteria using own and foreign plasmids, vectors and promotors. It also investigates possibilities for identification of pseudoreverse mutations, which might be essential for identification of function of unknown proteins. Work is focused mostly on the model cyanoabacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803.