Chloroplast study reveals molecular lock that helps power life on Earth

A new study reveals the dynamics of photosynthesis at the cellular level. Led by co-authors Professor Barry Bruce and Associate Professor Rajan Lamichhane, both of the Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology (BCMB) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, the team published its findings—"Single-molecule fluorescence and cross-linking reveal ligand-gated Toc34 oligomerization dynamics"—in the Biophysical Journal. The team included graduate student Sree Kavya Penneru, whom Bruce and Lamichhane co-mentor, and postdoctoral researcher Sriram Tiruvadi-Krishnan.