A: Physiology of the chloroplast

The focus of this project area is to understand chloroplast physiology across several scales. In particular, the focus is on the interconnection of the photosynthetic apparatus with CO2-concentrating and CO2-fixing functions (dark reaction) in the chloroplast (A2). Comparative studies between plant and cyanobacterial systems will cover an extended range of biological photosynthetic diversity. This understanding forms the basis for realising new synthetic metabolic pathways for robust CO2 fixation in the chloroplast (A3). The findings on chloroplast physiology complement the investigations on plastid stress response planned in project area B. Project areas A and B benefit directly from the synthetic-biological methods developed in project area C.