Publications by authors named "Allissa M Haney"
Article Synopsis
- Photosynthesis in the ocean is mainly done by tiny organisms called phytoplankton, and one important type is Synechococcus, which is a type of cyanobacterium.
- Synechococcus can change its pigments to capture light better depending on whether the light is blue or green, a process known as Type 4 chromatic acclimation (CA4).
- This CA4 process helps them thrive in different light conditions and is found in over 40% of Synechococcus in the ocean, especially in colder areas and deeper waters.
Marine cyanobacteria depend on light for photosynthesis, restricting their growth to the photic zone. The upper part of this layer is exposed to strong UV radiation (UVR), a DNA mutagen that can harm these microorganisms. To thrive in UVR-rich waters, marine cyanobacteria employ photoprotection strategies that are still not well defined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMarine cyanobacteria owe their ubiquity in part to the wide pigment diversity of their light-harvesting complexes. In open ocean waters, cells predominantly possess sophisticated antennae with rods composed of phycocyanin and two types of phycoerythrins (PEI and PEII). Some strains are specialized for harvesting either green or blue light, while others can dynamically modify their light absorption spectrum to match the dominant ambient color.
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