Prof. Marrink and Dr. Jansen partners in ENW-GROOT project of EUR 2.7 million

Prof. Siewert-Jan Marrink of the Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute (GBB) and Dr. Thomas la Cour Jansen from the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials (ZIAM) are two of six partners in an ENW-GROOT project by the NWO. The project received EUR 2.7 million in total, for research on how the PsbS protein in plants can recognize danger.

Plants depend on sunlight for their energy supply. With the use of an ingenious antenna system, they use this light very efficiently but in bright sunlight the chances to induce photo damage increase substantially. Plants can cope with these dangers with the use of a special protein called PsbS. However, it is completely unknown how this protein does its job. With advanced experimental and theoretical methods, the consortium will investigate how PsbS can recognize the danger and set in motion a cascade of processes that lead to efficient photo protection. Prof. Croce from VU University Amsterdam coordinates the consortium.