Functional genomics of plant photosynthesis in the fast lane using Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

• Published in: Trends in Plant Science Vol. 6; no. 8; pp. 364 - 371
• Main Authors: Dent, Rachel M., Han, Miehie, Niyogi, Krishna K.
• Format: Book Review Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-08-2001
• Subjects: Animals; Arabidopsis - genetics; Arabidopsis - metabolism; Chlamydomonas; Chlamydomonas reinhardtii; Chlamydomonas reinhardtii - cytology; Chlamydomonas reinhardtii - genetics; Chlamydomonas reinhardtii - metabolism; Chlorophyta; Chloroplasts - genetics; Chloroplasts - metabolism; Freshwater; functional genomics; genetics; Genomics; photosynthesis; Photosynthesis - genetics; Photosynthesis - physiology; Photosynthesis - radiation effects; Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins - metabolism; Structure-Activity Relationship; Plant Science; functional genomics; Biochemistry; genetics; photosynthesis; Chlamydomonas
• ISSN: 1360-1385; 1878-4372
• DOI: 10.1016/S1360-1385(01)02018-0

Oxygenic photosynthesis by algae and plants supports much of life on Earth. Several model organisms are used to study this vital process, but the unicellular green alga
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii offers significant advantages for the genetic dissection of photosynthesis. Recent experiments with
Chlamydomonas have substantially advanced our understanding of several aspects of photosynthesis, including chloroplast biogenesis, structure–function relationships in photosynthetic complexes, and environmental regulation.
Chlamydomonas is therefore the organism of choice for elucidating detailed functions of the hundreds of genes involved in plant photosynthesis.