Photosynthesis Across Multiple Scales: Reconstructing the Hierarchy of Light-Driven Processes in the Photosynthetic Membrane

The high efficiency of the photosynthetic machinery relies on a hierarchy of processes that take place on a variety of timescales and across a diverse range of lengths within the thylakoid membrane. Also, photosynthetic organisms must often acclimate to different light quantities and qualities: they do so by activating feedback processes that, again, take places on a variety timescales and lengths. A comprehensive view of the response of photosynthetic organisms to light is crucial not only from a fundamental point of view but, also, to pinpoint which steps of photosynthesis might possibly be manipulated for better usage of sunlight in biotechnology applications.

A synergistic approach between cutting-edge experimental and theoretical methods able to unravel the different timescales and lengths of photosynthesis is therefore crucial to obtain the big picture of the working principles of photosynthetic organisms. We will gather scientists with diverse background and expertise, to present and discuss together their latest findings and/or the most advanced experimental and theoretical methods, to reconstruct how photosynthesis works across multiple scales. This will include exciting topics such as method development, mutagenesis studies, structural biology, theoretical calculations, energy transfer processes, and photosynthesis-inspired technologies.