Sanoja Sridevan Rose Hills
Function of new antioxidants in microalgae
As a result of excess light, algae produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), which degrade DNA, proteins, and lipids throughout the cell. To protect themselves, they often biosynthesize antioxidants such as small thiols. Glutathione, the most studied thiol antioxidant, has two mechanisms: direct reduction of ROS and post-translational modification of cysteine residues. During the past year, I helped show that Clamydomonas reinhardtii and Auxenochlorella protothecoides, two microalgae species, also produce other small thiols, ovothiol and ergothioneine respectively. We have evidence ovothiol directly reduces ROS similar to one of glutathione’s functions. This summer I will try to determine whether ovothiol or ergothioneine also post-translationally modify microalgae proteins. I will use High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography to identify the small thiols bound to proteins in algae. If proteins are modified by ovothiol or ergothioneine, I will quantify this effect in response to ROS and high light stress. Long-term, proteome-wide analysis can identify which cysteines are modified. This research will improve understanding of protection of photosynthesis, a crucial part of the carbon cycle.
Message To Sponsor
I greatly appreciate your support of my research on the function of antioxidants in microalgae, which will be part of my honors thesis. Receiving funding for full-time research during the summer will allow me to start my thesis earlier, and will play a significant role in helping me pursue a career in biological research. Thank you for this opportunity!