Graduate Students Mini Symposium VIII - 2026

13:15 h Yuanyang Zhou - AG Erb
Implementation of synthetic photorespiratory pathways into cyanobacteria

Photosynthetic carbon fixation is constrained by the oxygenase activity of Rubisco, which initiates photorespiration, a process that imposes significant energetic and but their integration into central metabolism remains poorly understood. Here, we introduced synthetic photorespiratory pathways into a photorespiration-impaired strain of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus. Multi-omics analysis was used to reveal the metabolic changes in the engineered strains.

13:45 h Julian Schumacher - AG Klatt
Co-Stressor dynamics reprogram arsenic detoxification and physiology of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

We investigated stressor dynamics to identify physiological effects in the photosynthetic model Chlamydomonas reinhardtii exposed to arsenate (As(V)) and NaCl. They exert variable adverse effects depending on whether they are applied simultaneously or individually, revealing non-additive and antagonistic interactions between the stressors. This is accompanied by altered arsenic biotransformation, with NaCl decreasing arsenosugarphytol yield, a common product of arsenic metabolism in Chlamydomonas. Remarkably, reduced arsenosugarphytol production does not coincide with increased arsenic toxicity, suggesting that arsenic tolerance and biotransformation may be uncoupled under salt stress. This points to a condition-dependent organization, with potential consequences for arsenic speciation and environmental cycling.