----------
Note the change in time, date, and location.

Hope Cook will be presenting a seminar titled The pH Dependence of Photosystem II Oxygen-Evolving Complex Assembly.

Abstract: Photosystem II (PSII) research has gained interest in recent years due to the need for energy production. However the mechanisms of photosystem II photoassembly and water oxidation are not well understood. Therefore the main goal of my research was to understand photoassembly better by determining the pH dependence of oxygen evolving complex (OEC) assembly. These experiments could help to gain a better understanding of D1 (a subunit of photosystem II) degradation and PSII repair as well as determine the amino acid residues involved in the process. However, due to several issues with photoassembly there were some problems had to be addressed in order to perform this experiment. Therefore, we first had to optimize the process for depleting the cofactors from PSII (known as apo-BBY (PSII enriched particles) preparation) and photoassembly of PSII. This process took up most of my time in the lab so the pH dependence experiment was not fully completed and conclusions cannot be made based on the data obtained. Two side projects included in this research, was to understand the temperature dependence of water oxidation and to study non-converntional redox mediators in order to enhance the rate of oxygen-evolution. The combined data from all the experiments performed will lead to a better understanding of photosystem II as well as lead to better ways of studying photosystem II.

Course Instructor: Dr. Anne-Frances Miller