The Niyogi Lab studies photosynthetic energy conversion and its regulation in algae and plants.

The lab's long-term research goals are to understand how photosynthesis works, how it is regulated, and how it might be improved to help meet the world's needs for food and fuel.

The lab uses a wide array of experimental organisms (cyanobacteria, eukaryotic algae, and plants) and interdisciplinary approaches to investigate fundamental questions about the assembly, regulation, and dynamics of photosynthesis. Current lab members study the biosynthesis and function of photosynthetic pigments, assembly and repair of photosynthetic reaction centers, structure and dynamics of the photosynthetic membrane, mechanisms involved in sensing excess light, singlet oxygen signaling, transcriptional regulation of photosynthesis and photoprotection by light and carbon, and regulation of photosynthetic light harvesting in saturating light. By comparing how photosynthesis works in diverse organisms, we hope to uncover general design principles of natural photosynthesis as well as unique adaptations to different environments.

Kris Niyogi is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, a professor in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, and a faculty scientist in the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Lab funding: