7-11 July 2014
Africa/Johannesburg timezone
<a href="http://events.saip.org.za/internalPage.py?pageId=16&confId=34"><font color=#0000ff>SAIP2014 Proceedings published on 17 April 2015</font></a>

Using single-molecule spectroscopic methods to investigate the environmental dependencies of photoprotection in main plant light harvesting complex.

8 Jul 2014, 10:20
20m
D Les 103

D Les 103

Oral Presentation Track F - Applied Physics Applied

Speaker

Mr Joshua Botha (University of Pretoria)

Apply to be<br> considered for a student <br> &nbsp; award (Yes / No)?

Yes

Would you like to <br> submit a short paper <br> for the Conference <br> Proceedings (Yes / No)?

No

Main supervisor (name and email)<br>and his / her institution

Tjaart Krüger
Tjaart.Kruger@up.ac.za
University of Pretoria

Level for award<br>&nbsp;(Hons, MSc, <br> &nbsp; PhD)?

MSc

Abstract content <br> &nbsp; (Max 300 words)<br><a href="http://events.saip.org.za/getFile.py/access?resId=0&materialId=0&confId=34" target="_blank">Formatting &<br>Special chars</a>

It is not surprising that photosynthesis is a ‘hot topic’ in the field of Biophysics as it is both a beautiful example of where physics can be used to better understand the mechanisms at work in a biological system, and could also provide an alternative energy source for biofuels and photovoltaic electricity. Photo-protection processes, often referred to as Non Photochemical Quenching (NPQ), protect the plant in high light intensity conditions and consist of a range of mechanisms working at different timescales. We look at the very first step of NPQ in plants thought to take place in the main light harvesting pigment-protein complex LHC2. The change of pH and the resulting pH gradient across the membrane in which most of photosynthesis takes place have been proposed to be the trigger for the first step of NPQ. In this presentation an investigation will be shown of the NPQ pH dependency of LHC2 trimers by using single molecule spectroscopy combined with fluorescence lifetime analysis. The pH dependence of fast fluorescence intensity fluctuations will also be shown.

Primary author

Mr Joshua Botha (University of Pretoria)

Co-authors

Mr Herman Stoltz (University of Pretoria) Mr Michael Gruber (Vrije University Amsterdam) Prof. Rienk van Grondelle (Vrije University Amsterdam) Dr Tjaart Krüger (University of Pretoria)

Presentation Materials

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