TREVES LAB

Photosynthesis shaped much of the world as we know it, driving our climate, nutrition and energy resources. Fueled by energy and reducing power generated by the light reactions, metabolic pathways in photosynthetic cells have evolved to optimally divide fixed carbon between growth, storage and other cellular and organismal needs (which is often termed “photosynthate investment”), and when needed, to alleviate stress caused by imbalances thereof (e.g. under fluctuating conditions).

The theoretical limit of photosynthesis efficiency (defined as the fraction of light energy that is captured in conversion of CO2 and water to glucose) is widely accepted as ~12%, but reaches only 3-4% in higher plants and 5-7% in microalgae in empirical efficiencies measurements, emphasizing the potential of the latter as a resource of improvement of photosynthesis in future crops.

Our overreaching aim is to gain deep systems-level understanding of photosynthetic metabolism in algae, and the role it plays in stirring photosynthesis efficiency and growth. To address these goals, we apply a set of tools, including state-of-the-art flux-metabolomics, modeling, molecular biology and physiology.