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Devaki Bhaya Department of Plant Biology
My research interests focus on cyanobacteria a large and diverse group of photosynthetic prokaryotes. Cyanobacteria are fascinating from a number of different perspectives. From an evolutionary standpoint, they represent an ancient lineage capable of oxygenic photosynthesis, partially responsible for the oxygenation of the early earth. They are also assumed to be the progenitors of plastids that are present in all plants, reflecting an ancient endosymbiotic event. Cyanobacteria can fix carbon and nitrogen as well as produce oxygen and hydrogen …sometimes all in one cell! Cyanobacteria can survive and flourish in an amazing range of environments and are often dominant in marine habitats, as well as in microbial mats and biofilms. Infact cyanobacteria have gained notoriety because massive algal blooms produce toxins and can foul water bodies all over the world. Their global distribution is reflected, in part, by their ability to cope with wide fluctuations in temperature, nutrient and light levels. Thus one can potentially use them to study and dissect processes related to photosynthesis, acclimation, evolution, symbiosis, circadian rhythms and more…. We have chosen to take a molecular⁄genetic approach to understanding how unicellular cyanobacteria such as Synechocystis sp. and Synechococcus sp. acclimate to a variety of stresses, particularly light and nutrients. Both these cyanobacteria are model organisms amenable to genetic manipulation and the complete genome sequences of many other cyanobacteria are also available. Thus one can combine the power of comparative genomics with molecular tools and biochemistry to dissect acclimation and regulatory processes. More recently, we have extended this understanding of acclimation processes and physiology to thermophilic cyanobacteria that grow as microbial mats or biofilms in the hot springs of Yellowstone National Park. We are currently working on:
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