Burlacot Lab
Unraveling inefficiencies of photosynthesis in a changing world
Photosynthesis is the process by which plants and algae use sun light energy to transform CO2 into biomass. Because photosynthesis uses a highly abundant energy source (sunlight) and consumes CO2, it holds great potential for becoming the center of the future bioeconomy. However, its efficiency in transforming light energy to biomass is quite low (2-5%) and diminishes when acclimating to environmental fluctuations. Which hampers our ability to use it for biomanufacturing biofuels, pharmaceuticals or bioplastics. Our group explores the mechanisms by which photosynthesis acclimates to environmental changes like light availability, CO2 concentration, or temperature and pinpoints what mechanisms are generating inefficiencies during photosynthesis.
To this end, we use the model green microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, eventually expanding our acquired knowledge on other algae and crop plants.
Our questions and goals: How are microalgae dynamically reacting to environmental fluctuations? How do molecular mechanisms of photosynthesis dynamically interact to optimise cell survival and growth under fluctuating conditions? What genes are important for acclimation to such fluctuations? Are these mechanisms equally efficient for allowing CO2 fixation? Can we modify key enzymes to make photosynthesis more efficient in some environments?
News
2024 07 The huge collaborative paper led by Liat, discovering a new transporter tuning photosynthesis in algae has been accepted in Plant Physiology!
2024 06 Adrien is recognized by the American Society of Plant Biologists as a "rising star in plant science" and presents the work of the lab as a plenary speaker at the ASPB annual meeting in Hawaii.
2024 06 Work of the lab describing the energetic circuits sustaining CO2 fixation is published in The Plant Cell
2024 06 Collaborative paper lead by Rui Miao (Upsalla University, Sweden) on the role of alkenes during photosynthesis is out in Plant Physiology
2024 06 Adrien is invited at the North American Photosynthesis Conference to showcase the latest results from the lab
2024 05 Collaborative paper lead by Dania Nanes Sarfati from Stanford University is now out in Nature Communications
2024 04 Liat receives the prestigious Stanford Energy Fellowship to work in the lab on the sub-cellular energetics of the CCM
2024 03 Liat and Adrien show Chlorophyll fluorescence to children at the 4th STEM Frenzy festival in San Francisco
2024 03 Collaborative paper lead by Justin Findinier from Carnegie in BioRxiv: "Dramatic Changes in Mitochondrial Subcellular Location and Morphology Accompany Activation of the CO2 Concentrating Mechanism"
2024 03 A collaborative review on respiratory role during photosynthesis led by Adrien and Ginga Shimakawa (Kwansei-Gakuin University, Japan) is now out in the Journal of Bioscience
2024 03 Adrien speaks at the Night of Ideas in San Francisco on the importance of oceans for carbone fixation
2023 12 Collaborative paper lead by Rui Miao from Upsalla University in BioRxiv: "Alka(e)nes contribute to membrane lipid homeostasis and resilience of photosynthesis to high light in cyanobacteria"
2023 12 Adrien is featured in the podcast "Eat your Greens" and talks about microalgal photosynthesis and it's role for sustainability.
2023 11 Adrien presents in Pasadena how principles of microalgal photosynthesis could impact food productivity and develop new CO2 capture technologies.
2023 11 Adrien is a finalist of the 2023 New Phytologist Tansley Medal competition for excellence in plant science.
2023 11 Huge collaborative paper lead by lab member Liat Adler in BioRxiv: "The role of BST4 in the pyrenoid of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii" providing new insights on the functioning of CO2 concentrating mechanisms in algae!
2023 10 Perspective on the mutliple roles of alternative photosynthetic electron flow published in New Phytologist by Adrien!
2023 09 The lab starts it's largest experiment ever to quantify how much proteins in Chlamydomonas are important to balance robustness and efficiency during light fluctuations
2023 09 The lab receives support from the US Department of Energy through a collaborative project led by Arthur Grossman (Carnegie Institution for Science, CA, USA).
2023 08 New work from the lab experimentally unraveling the bioenergetics of CO2 fixation published in BioRxiv!
2023 07 Adrien shows to MIT Chemists how microalgae fix CO2
2023 06 Collaborative paper lead by Dania Nanes Sarfati from Stanford University in BioRxiv "Coordinated wound responses in a regenerative animal-algal photosymbiotic metaorganism"
2023 04 New paper on the energetic network of the CCM published in Trends in Plant Science!
Press release here
2023 01 Collaborative paper lead by Ousmane Dao from CEA in BioRxiv "Cyclic and pseudo-cyclic electron pathways play antagonistic roles during nitrogen deficiency in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii "
2022 12 Adrien listed on Forbes 30 under 30
press release: https://bse.carnegiescience.edu/carnegies-adrien-burlacot-selected-forbes-under-30-list-0
media coverage: La Montagne, News Auvergne, La Jaune et la Rouge
2022 11 Adrien and Carolyne go on a trip in California to discover new microalgae
2022 09 Adrien gives a science popularization talk at the Learning Planet Institute in Paris
Link to the video (in French)
2022 07 New study from the lab on the role of photoprotection published in Plant Cell and Environment !
2022 05 Collaborative paper led by Gilles Peltier in BioRxiv "Boosting chloroplast ribosome biogenesis by a plastidial DEAD-box RNA helicase is critical for high light acclimation"
2022 04 New discovery on the enegization of the CO2 concentrating mechanism in Nature!
Press release here
2022 01 A new publication from our lab aimed for young student!
2021 11 Our lab participated to the nightlife at the Cal Academy of Science
Our location:
Burlacot Lab
Carnegie Institution for Science
Department of Plant Biology
260 Panama street,
Stanford, CA 94305