Abstract
Photosynthetic cyanobacteria and chloroplasts have great potential as biofactories, e.g. for the production of biofuels and pharmaceuticals. Engineering native and heterologous metabolism often results in unique energy demands on the cell, in terms of the ratio between ATP and NADPH produced in photosynthesis. The most effective way of increasing relative ATP production is the NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase-like (NDH) complex, which remains very poorly understood.1 In this project we aim to understand the function, electron donors and mechanism of the NDH using biophysics, biochemistry and molecular biology. Ultimately, this work will guide manipulation of photosynthetic metabolism in synthetic biology.
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