A grouping of two live Chlamydomonas cells at 1,000x magnification. The cells are flagellated, though the flagella are not visible. (Marc Perkins, CC BY-NC 2.0)
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a DOE JGI flagship species and the premier reference organism for unicellular green algae. It is an important reference system for many aspects of plant cell and molecular biology, especially as they relate to energy and carbon metabolism including lipid and starch storage and utilization in photosynthetic systems. Chlamydomonas offers an unprecedented opportunity to investigate how photosynthetic eukaryotes integrate diurnal and circadian information into periodic gene expression networks. Investment in understanding how gene regulatory networks of Chlamydomonas impact and respond to metabolic constraints and diurnal cycles can be leveraged to improve productivity of biofuel feedstocks.
Proposer’s Name: James Umen, Danforth Center