Light is required for photosynthesis, but too much light can be harmful to algae and plants.
These mechanisms are especially critical in high light, when the absorption of light energy exceeds a plant's capacity for CO 2 fixation. Our long-term goal is to understand the genetic basis for ecologically relevant physiological traits. By isolating algal and plant mutants, we aim to identify important processes involved in photoprotection and photo-oxidative stress responses. A diverse set of techniques, including genetics, physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, spectroscopy, and genomics, are used to characterize the mutants and to assess the physiological significance of different protective mechanisms. Future studies may allow us to manipulate plant productivity and the ability of plants to grow in different, often adverse, environments.