La production d'hydrogène et mécanismes associés chez l'algue verte Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Doctoral thesis (2012)

Interplay between non-photochemical plastoquinone reduction and re-oxidation in pre-illuminated Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: a chlorophyll fluorescence study

in Photosynthesis Research (2011), 110

In photosynthetic eukaryotes, the redox state of the plastoquinone (PQ) pool is an important sensor for mechanisms that regulate the photosynthetic electron transport. In higher plants, a multimeric ... [more ▼]

In photosynthetic eukaryotes, the redox state of the plastoquinone (PQ) pool is an important sensor for mechanisms that regulate the photosynthetic electron transport. In higher plants, a multimeric nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate) (NAD(P))H dehydroge- nase (NDH) complex and a plastid terminal oxidase (PTOX) are involved in PQ redox homeostasis in the dark. We recently demonstrated that in the microalgae Chla- mydomonas reinhardtii, which lacks the multimeric NDH complex of higher plants, non-photochemical PQ reduction is mediated by a monomeric type-II NDH (Nda2). In this study, we further explore the nature and the importance of non-photochemical PQ reduction and oxidation in relation to redox homeostasis in this alga by recording the ‘dark’ chlorophyll fluorescence transients of pre-illuminated algal samples. From the observation that this fluorescence tran- sient is modified by addition of propyl gallate, a known inhibitor of PTOX, and in a Nda2-deficient strain we conclude that it reflects post-illumination changes in the redox state of PQ resulting from simultaneous PTOX and Nda2 activity. We show that the post-illumination fluo- rescence transient can be used to monitor changes in the relative rates of the non-photochemical PQ reduction and reoxidation in response to different physiological situa- tions. We study this fluorescence transient in algae acclimated to high light and in a mutant deficient in mitochondrial respiration. Some of our observations indi- cate that the chlororespiratory pathway participates in redox homeostasis in C. reinhardtii. [less ▲]

Functional analysis of hydrogen photoproduction in respiratory-deficient mutants of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

in International Journal of Hydrogen Energy (2011)

In this paper, mitochondrial mutants of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii defective for respiratory complex I (NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase), complex III (ubiquinol cytochrome c oxidoreductase) and both ... [more ▼]

In this paper, mitochondrial mutants of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii defective for respiratory complex I (NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase), complex III (ubiquinol cytochrome c oxidoreductase) and both complexes I and III were analyzed for H2 photoproduction. Several parameters were followed during the S-deficiency stage and the anaerobic stage leading to H2 photoproduction. At the early aerobic S-deficiency stage, starch and neutral lipids accumulated in all strains but their amount was significantly decreased in mutants compared to wild type. During the H2 photoproduction process, whereas starch content strongly decreased in all strains, neutral lipid amount remained nearly unchanged, suggesting that starch degraded by glycolysis is the preferential substrate for energy production during anaerobiosis. The mutants displayed a decrease in H2 photoproduction correlating to the number of active mitochondrial proton-pumping sites lost in the strains. Our results thus highlight the critical role of oxidative phosphorylation during the first (aerobic) stage of S-starvation when carbon resources are accumulated. [less ▲]

On the relative contributions of the PSII-dependent and Nda2-dependent pathways to the hydrogen photoproduction in S-depleted cells of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Poster (2010, May)

Hydrogen production in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii : role of the NAD(P)H dehydrogenases and of mitochondrial respiration

Poster (2010, January 26)