Projects
- Phytochrome structure/function
- Although people have been working on phytochrome biochemistry for more than 50 years, we still don't know how the molecule actually works. What does it actually do? Is it an enzyme? What actually happens inside the molecule when it absorbs a photon? Why does it change colour? How can it be stable in two different states? How do those states differ structurally and biochemically? We, and many others, would like to answer these questions.
- Mosses and phytochromes
- To most people, mosses are boring because they are so small and simple, but exactly for these reasons cell biologists find them rather useful as model plants for basic research. One of the most intriguing things about mosses is how they steer their filaments to grow towards a source of light. Of course it makes sense that they do this, but what is interesting is how they manage to "see" from which direction the light is coming and orientate their tip growth accordingly