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Selected Papers from the International Conference on Biophysics of Photosynthesis:...
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Selected Papers from the International Conference on Biophysics of Photosynthesis: From molecules to the field

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Physiology and Metabolism".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2020) | Viewed by 28369

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Luca Dall'Osto

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Guest Editor
Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy
Interests: photosynthesis; photoprotection; light harvesting; algae; higher plants; mechanisms of abiotic stress resistance
Dr. Margherita Maiuri

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Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milano, Italy
Interests: ultrafast spectroscopy; multidimensional coherent spectroscopies; biomolecules; photosynthesis; light harvesting
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Paolo Pesaresi

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Guest Editor
Department of Biosciences, University of Milano, 20133 Milano, Italy
Interests: photosynthesis; photoprotection; electron transport bryophytes
Dr. Alberta Pinnola

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Guest Editor
Department of Biology and Biotechnlogy, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Interests: mechanisms of abiotic stress resistance; photosynthesis; photoprotection; light harvesting; mosses; heterologous expression; genome editing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Alessandro Alboresi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Interests: photosynthesis; photoprotection; electron transport bryophytes

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of the Editor-in Chief, the Editorial Board and the Guest Editors, Plants is very pleased to announce the Call for papers on Special Issue for the scientists of the International Congress on “Biophysics of Photosynthesis: from molecules the field”!

This Special Issue will comprise selected, extended papers from the International Congress on “Biophysics of Photosynthesis: from molecules the field” which will be held at the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome on 2-4 October 2019.

website: http://www.biophysicsofphotosynthesis2019.eu/

Selected contributions will address a wide range of topics in plant biology, covering very different aspects presented and discussed at the meeting.

Contributors are welcome to submit original research, method, opinion, and review articles related to the topics covered in the International Congress on “Biophysics of Photosynthesis: from molecules the field”.

Submissions to this Special Issue are accepted from the Conference attendees and their co-authors.

Papers selected for this Special Issue will be subjected to a rigorous peer-review procedure with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments, and applications.

Submission Guideline: Submissions should follow the Plant format downloaded from the website:

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/plants/instructions

Prof. Dr. Luca Dall'Osto
Dr. Margherita Maiuri
Prof. Dr. Paolo Pesaresi
Dr. Alberta Pinnola
Dr. Alessandro Alboresi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • photosynthesis
  • photoprotection
  • abiotic stress
  • plant physiology
  • plant biotechnology
  • plant molecular biology
  • systems biology and omics
  • plant biophysics
  • crop production

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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25 pages, 1388 KiB  
Article
High Carotenoid Mutants of Chlorella vulgaris Show Enhanced Biomass Yield under High Irradiance
by Zeno Guardini, Luca Dall’Osto, Simone Barera, Mehrdad Jaberi, Stefano Cazzaniga, Nicola Vitulo and Roberto Bassi
Plants 2021, 10(5), 911; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10050911 - 1 May 2021
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 4378
Abstract
Microalgae represent a carbon-neutral source of bulk biomass, for extraction of high-value compounds and production of renewable fuels. Due to their high metabolic activity and reproduction rates, species of the genus Chlorella are highly productive when cultivated in photobioreactors. However, wild-type strains show [...] Read more.
Microalgae represent a carbon-neutral source of bulk biomass, for extraction of high-value compounds and production of renewable fuels. Due to their high metabolic activity and reproduction rates, species of the genus Chlorella are highly productive when cultivated in photobioreactors. However, wild-type strains show biological limitations making algal bioproducts expensive compared to those extracted from other feedstocks. Such constraints include inhomogeneous light distribution due to high optical density of the culture, and photoinhibition of the surface-exposed cells. Thus, the domestication of algal strains for industry makes it increasingly important to select traits aimed at enhancing light-use efficiency while withstanding excess light stress. Carotenoids have a crucial role in protecting against photooxidative damage and, thus, represent a promising target for algal domestication. We applied chemical mutagenesis to Chlorella vulgaris and selected for enhanced tolerance to the carotenoid biosynthesis inhibitor norflurazon. The NFR (norflurazon-resistant) strains showed an increased carotenoid pool size and enhanced tolerance towards photooxidative stress. Growth under excess light revealed an improved carbon assimilation rate of NFR strains with respect to WT. We conclude that domestication of Chlorella vulgaris, by optimizing both carotenoid/chlorophyll ratio and resistance to photooxidative stress, boosted light-to-biomass conversion efficiency under high light conditions typical of photobioreactors. Comparison with strains previously reported for enhanced tolerance to singlet oxygen, reveals that ROS resistance in Chlorella is promoted by at least two independent mechanisms, only one of which is carotenoid-dependent. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the International Conference on Biophysics of Photosynthesis: From molecules to the field)
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16 pages, 3132 KiB  
Article
Expression of a Hyperthermophilic Cellobiohydrolase in Transgenic Nicotiana tabacum by Protein Storage Vacuole Targeting
by Manuel Benedetti, Valeria Vecchi, Zeno Guardini, Luca Dall’Osto and Roberto Bassi
Plants 2020, 9(12), 1799; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9121799 - 18 Dec 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2766
Abstract
Plant expression of microbial Cell Wall Degrading Enzymes (CWDEs) is a valuable strategy to produce industrial enzymes at affordable cost. Unfortunately, the constitutive expression of CWDEs may affect plant fitness to variable extents, including developmental alterations, sterility and even lethality. In order to [...] Read more.
Plant expression of microbial Cell Wall Degrading Enzymes (CWDEs) is a valuable strategy to produce industrial enzymes at affordable cost. Unfortunately, the constitutive expression of CWDEs may affect plant fitness to variable extents, including developmental alterations, sterility and even lethality. In order to explore novel strategies for expressing CWDEs in crops, the cellobiohydrolase CBM3GH5, from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus, was constitutively expressed in N. tabacum by targeting the enzyme both to the apoplast and to the protein storage vacuole. The apoplast targeting failed to isolate plants expressing the recombinant enzyme despite a large number of transformants being screened. On the opposite side, the targeting of the cellobiohydrolase to the protein storage vacuole led to several transgenic lines expressing CBM3GH5, with an enzyme yield of up to 0.08 mg g DW−1 (1.67 Units g DW−1) in the mature leaf tissue. The analysis of CBM3GH5 activity revealed that the enzyme accumulated in different plant organs in a developmental-dependent manner, with the highest abundance in mature leaves and roots, followed by seeds, stems and leaf ribs. Notably, both leaves and stems from transgenic plants were characterized by an improved temperature-dependent saccharification profile. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the International Conference on Biophysics of Photosynthesis: From molecules to the field)
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14 pages, 1705 KiB  
Article
A Genetic Screen to Identify New Molecular Players Involved in Photoprotection qH in Arabidopsis thaliana
by Pierrick Bru, Sanchali Nanda and Alizée Malnoë
Plants 2020, 9(11), 1565; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9111565 - 13 Nov 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 5921
Abstract
Photosynthesis is a biological process which converts light energy into chemical energy that is used in the Calvin–Benson cycle to produce organic compounds. An excess of light can induce damage to the photosynthetic machinery. Therefore, plants have evolved photoprotective mechanisms such as non-photochemical [...] Read more.
Photosynthesis is a biological process which converts light energy into chemical energy that is used in the Calvin–Benson cycle to produce organic compounds. An excess of light can induce damage to the photosynthetic machinery. Therefore, plants have evolved photoprotective mechanisms such as non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). To focus molecular insights on slowly relaxing NPQ processes in Arabidopsis thaliana, previously, a qE-deficient line—the PsbS mutant—was mutagenized and a mutant with high and slowly relaxing NPQ was isolated. The mutated gene was named suppressor of quenching 1, or SOQ1, to describe its function. Indeed, when present, SOQ1 negatively regulates or suppresses a form of antenna NPQ that is slow to relax and is photoprotective. We have now termed this component qH and identified the plastid lipocalin, LCNP, as the effector for this energy dissipation mode to occur. Recently, we found that the relaxation of qH1, ROQH1, protein is required to turn off qH. The aim of this study is to identify new molecular players involved in photoprotection qH by a whole genome sequencing approach of chemically mutagenized Arabidopsis thaliana. We conducted an EMS-mutagenesis on the soq1 npq4 double mutant and used chlorophyll fluorescence imaging to screen for suppressors and enhancers of qH. Out of 22,000 mutagenized plants screened, the molecular players cited above were found using a mapping-by-sequencing approach. Here, we describe the phenotypic characterization of the other mutants isolated from this genetic screen and an additional 8000 plants screened. We have classified them in several classes based on their fluorescence parameters, NPQ kinetics, and pigment content. A high-throughput whole genome sequencing approach on 65 mutants will identify the causal mutations thanks to allelic mutations from having reached saturation of the genetic screen. The candidate genes could be involved in the formation or maintenance of quenching sites for qH, in the regulation of qH at the transcriptional level, or be part of the quenching site itself. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the International Conference on Biophysics of Photosynthesis: From molecules to the field)
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Review

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16 pages, 748 KiB  
Review
Photosynthetic Traits and Nitrogen Uptake in Crops: Which Is the Role of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi?
by Raffaella Balestrini, Cecilia Brunetti, Walter Chitarra and Luca Nerva
Plants 2020, 9(9), 1105; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9091105 - 27 Aug 2020
Cited by 50 | Viewed by 9130
Abstract
Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are root symbionts that provide mineral nutrients to the host plant in exchange for carbon compounds. AM fungi positively affect several aspects of plant life, improving nutrition and leading to a better growth, stress tolerance, and disease resistance and [...] Read more.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are root symbionts that provide mineral nutrients to the host plant in exchange for carbon compounds. AM fungi positively affect several aspects of plant life, improving nutrition and leading to a better growth, stress tolerance, and disease resistance and they interact with most crop plants such as cereals, horticultural species, and fruit trees. For this reason, they receive expanding attention for the potential use in sustainable and climate-smart agriculture context. Although several positive effects have been reported on photosynthetic traits in host plants, showing improved performances under abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity and extreme temperature, the involved mechanisms are still to be fully discovered. In this review, some controversy aspects related to AM symbiosis and photosynthesis performances will be discussed, with a specific focus on nitrogen acquisition-mediated by AM fungi. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the International Conference on Biophysics of Photosynthesis: From molecules to the field)
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25 pages, 1559 KiB  
Review
Barley’s Second Spring as a Model Organism for Chloroplast Research
by Lisa Rotasperti, Francesca Sansoni, Chiara Mizzotti, Luca Tadini and Paolo Pesaresi
Plants 2020, 9(7), 803; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9070803 - 27 Jun 2020
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5296
Abstract
Barley (Hordeum vulgare) has been widely used as a model crop for studying molecular and physiological processes such as chloroplast development and photosynthesis. During the second half of the 20th century, mutants such as albostrians led to the discovery of the [...] Read more.
Barley (Hordeum vulgare) has been widely used as a model crop for studying molecular and physiological processes such as chloroplast development and photosynthesis. During the second half of the 20th century, mutants such as albostrians led to the discovery of the nuclear-encoded, plastid-localized RNA polymerase and the retrograde (chloroplast-to-nucleus) signalling communication pathway, while chlorina-f2 and xantha mutants helped to shed light on the chlorophyll biosynthetic pathway, on the light-harvesting proteins and on the organization of the photosynthetic apparatus. However, during the last 30 years, a large fraction of chloroplast research has switched to the more “user-friendly” model species Arabidopsis thaliana, the first plant species whose genome was sequenced and published at the end of 2000. Despite its many advantages, Arabidopsis has some important limitations compared to barley, including the lack of a real canopy and the absence of the proplastid-to-chloroplast developmental gradient across the leaf blade. These features, together with the availability of large collections of natural genetic diversity and mutant populations for barley, a complete genome assembly and protocols for genetic transformation and gene editing, have relaunched barley as an ideal model species for chloroplast research. In this review, we provide an update on the genomics tools now available for barley, and review the biotechnological strategies reported to increase photosynthesis efficiency in model species, which deserve to be validated in barley. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the International Conference on Biophysics of Photosynthesis: From molecules to the field)
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