The project, building on very recent experimental and computational methodologies, investigates at atomic level detail the key macromolecular apparatus that generates energy from sun light or food in higher life forms. Outcomes of the research are new solutions for solar energy conversion and agriculture as well as health benefits. The research extends the size scale of macromolecular systems within cells that can be studied and advances the technological frontier of computational technologies employed in the life sciences. The project provides an exceptional interdisciplinary training opportunity for young researchers from the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, and computer science. Planned activities also include development of advanced visualization and analysis tools, dissemination of teaching material on photosynthesis and respiration, and the production of a movie "Birth of Planet Earth" showcasing the early evolution of photosynthesis establishing life on Earth.
Two ubiquitous biological energy conversion systems are investigated: the thylakoid systems of plant chloroplasts and the respiratory complex of mitochondria. The two macromolecular systems involve large protein complexes and share physical processes as well as constituent proteins. The project combines molecular electronics, stochastic quantum mechanics, and molecular dynamics methods to answer critical questions in bioenergetics: how do the many participating processes coordinate themselves and, in some cases, how do they achieve actually their conversion function? The research strategy for the two systems is anchored in the PI's four decades of work, including work on the photosynthetic apparatus of purple bacteria. In case of the first system, the supramolecular organization of the thylakoid membrane will be determined along with its energy transfer and conversion processes. In case of the second system, the ability of the respiratory complexes of mitochondria to harness energy will be determined on the basis of published structures. For both systems a detailed computational description of energy storage and transduction will be provided that extends understanding of these systems beyond what is provided by experiment alone. The findings are expected to resolve apparent discrepancies between structural and functional characteristics of the systems. The research links atomic level supramolecular structure to energy and charge transfer processes through dissipative quantum mechanics and molecular dynamics descriptions.
This project is jointly funded by the Molecular Biophysics Cluster in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences and the Physics of Living Systems Program in the Division of Physics.
