Maria Mittag

TL;DR: Analyses of the Chlamydomonas genome advance the understanding of the ancestral eukaryotic cell, reveal previously unknown genes associated with photosynthetic and flagellar functions, and establish links between ciliopathy and the composition and function of flagella.

TL;DR: A procedure to purify the eyespot apparatus from the green model alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii resulted in the identification of 202 different proteins with at least two different peptides, which provides new insights into structural components of the eyespots apparatus, photoreceptors, retina(l)-related proteins, members of putative signaling pathways for phototaxis and chemotaxis, and metabolic pathways within an algal visual system.

TL;DR: The analyses of the Porphyra umbilicalis genome provide insights into how this macrophyte thrives in the stressful intertidal zone and into the basis for its nutritional value as human food and elucidate traits that inform the understanding of the biology of red algae as one of the few multicellular eukaryotic lineages.

TL;DR: The existence of a molecular link between photoreception, photosynthesis, and photoprotection in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is shown, indicating that the sensing, utilization, and dissipation of light is a concerted process that plays a vital role in microalgal acclimation to environments of variable light intensities.

TL;DR: The data suggest that aCRY is a functionally important blue and red light–activated flavoprotein and expands the paradigm of flavoproteins and cryptochromes as blue light sensors to include other light qualities.