Iron transport, storage and metabolism in the model seaweed Ectocarpus siliculosus

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Berthold F. Matzanke-Markstein
• Subject Area: Biological and Biomimetic Chemistry
• Term: from 2009 to 2013
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 149526599

Marine macro algae have various advantages over classical crop plants for the production of biofuels (e.g. high biomass yield and neither arable land nor additional H2O is required). In addition, they can be engineered to increase photosynthetic efficiency. A sufficient supply of nutrients will also increase the biomass yield. In particular, the iron level in ocean waters is even lower than in most terrestrial environments since a large fraction of the limited iron available is already tightly complexed. Thus iron availability is now known to limit primary productivity in certain oceanic regimes. Unfortunately, while investigation of the iron uptake and storage systems of micro algae has received some attention, virtually nothing is known about these mechanisms in multicellular macro algae (seaweeds).In order to reveal iron uptake and storage mechanisms of the model seaweed Ectocarpus we plan to employ primarily spectroscopic methods (Mössbauer, EPR, XAS). Of particular importance is the P01- nuclear resonance scattering (NRS) beamline within the PETRA IIIsystem at DESY, Hamburg. The unique sub-micro focusing devices will exhibit world-wide for the first time variable focus diameters ranging from 1μm down to 10 nm. This technique allows us to differentiate iron accumulation patterns between different cell types and filament patterns and will provide unprecedented insights in the iron metabolism of E. siliculosus by in situ NRS.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: USA
• Participating Person: Professor Carl J. Carrano, Ph.D.