Anna Wysocka

Anna obtained her master's degree in Biotechnology at the University of Agriculture in Kraków, Poland. In 2019 she joined Roman Sobotka's group, and during her PhD studies she is focusing mainly on the role and mechanism of functioning of High Light Inducible Proteins (Hlips) in the cyanobacterial cells. Hlips are highly conserved one-transmembrane-helix proteins binding chlorophyll and carotenoid, and they are thought to be the ancestors of all Light Harvesting Complexes (LHCs) responsible for light harvesting in plants and algae. In cyanobacteria, however, Hlips are playing a different role – they are not involved in light energy capturing but in photoprotection. We now know that they can bind pigments in an energy dissipating configuration (Knoppová et al. 2014; Staleva et al. 2015; Niedzwiedzki et al. 2016), but the detailed mechanism of their function and precise role they play in cells under different conditions needs further investigation.