https://joliot.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2022/Electron-spectroscopy-DNA-photorepair.aspx Website of the Frédéric-Joliot Institute of Life Sciences which includes 4 departments: I2BC, DMTS, NeuroSpin and Service hospitalier Frédéric Joliot (SHFJ). The teams are mainly located at the CEA Paris-Saclay center and at the Orsay hospital. en-US https://www.cea.fr/Style%20Library/Themes/drf/instituts/images/logo-cea-joliot-2023.png https://joliot.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2025/Effet-qualite-lumiere-sur-photosynthese.aspx Une étude menée par une équipe de l'I2BC montre que la surexcitation du photosystème II est responsable de la faible valeur de qL, un paramètre de fluorescence, chez des mutants d’Arabidopsis thaliana incapables de réaliser des « transitions d’état ». Photosynthesis ; Molecular mechanisms ; Cell and molecular imaging Researchers SB2SM Scientific result ; Article Fri, 26 Sep 2025 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2025/thylakoid-3D-organisation-high-resolution-fluorescence-microscopy.aspx A team from I2BC has applied a novel fluorescence microscopy method to reconstruct 3D chloroplast volumes from 2D images. A promising approach for monitoring variations in the volume of the photosynthetic membrane network in response to environmental fluctuations in plants. Photosynthesis ; Microscope SB2SM Scientific result ; Article Tue, 08 Apr 2025 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2025/perylene-fission-singulet.aspx Une étude internationale menée par un laboratoire de l’I2BC montre qu’un phénomène quantique appelé fission du singulet peut se produire lorsqu’une molécule modèle est mise en solution aqueuse et qu’elle se dimérise. L’étude spectroscopique exhaustive ouvre de nouvelles voies de recherche pour le développement de systèmes photocatalytiques efficients en milieu aqueux. Photosynthesis ; Bio-inspired catalysis Researchers SB2SM Scientific result Mon, 24 Mar 2025 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2024/New-model-redox-regulation-photosystem-I.aspx A team from I2BC has studied the regulation of oxygen reduction to superoxide at photosystem I (PSI) in several redox mutants of the plant A.thaliana, grown during different photoperiods. The results enable to propose a new model of PSI-specific redox regulation, capable of rapid adaptation according to light conditions Photosynthesis SB2SM Scientific result Tue, 05 Nov 2024 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2023/Potential-drought-resistance-mechanism-plants.aspx I2BC researchers identify drought-resistant mutants of the model plant A. thaliana. These mutants are no longer able to carry out the state transition, a process that enables plants to adjust the absorption of light by their two photosystems in an optimal way. They could constitute a way of improving crop resistance to drought. Photosynthesis SB2SM Scientific result Thu, 07 Dec 2023 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2023/Manganese-homeostasis-functioning-photosynthesis.aspx A team from I2BC shows, by using super-resolution fluorescence microscopy and transmission electron microscopy approaches, that both excess and deficiency of Mn affect the organization of thylakoid membranes and photosynthetic electron transport in the plant Marchantia polymorpha Photosynthesis SB2SM Scientific result ; Article Thu, 20 Apr 2023 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2023/Model-cyanobacterium-production-high-value-terpenes.aspx Through two publications, an I2BC team demonstrates the high biotechnological potential of the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803 for the photosynthetic production of high value-added organic compounds, the terpenes. Photosynthesis ; Microalgae ; Biotechnology SB2SM Scientific result Fri, 10 Feb 2023 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2022/Photoreduction-of-CO2-by-iron-porphyrins.aspx ​Researchers from ICMMO* and ISMO**, in collaboration with a team from I2BC, show that the urea-decorated iron porphyrin catalysts they developed previously for the electro-catalysis of CO2, can be successfully employed in a photo-catalytic approach. Chemistry ; Bio-inspired catalysis ; Photosynthesis SB2SM Scientific result Thu, 16 Jun 2022 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2022/Electron-spectroscopy-DNA-photorepair.aspx A team from the I2BC has just demonstrated, using transient absorption spectroscopy, that the repair of UV-induced damage in DNA by a repair enzyme (6-4) photolyase occurs in two successive photoreactions. Photosynthesis SB2SM News ; Article Wed, 23 Mar 2022 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2021/Singlet-Fission-Plants-Carotenoids.aspx Researchers from I2BC (CEA-Joliot/CNRS/UPSay, in collaboration with the JP Bourgin Institute and the University of Vilnius, decipher for the first time the energy dissipation process called "singlet fission" in two natural flower carotenoids, a fundamental mechanism for the design of new and more efficient multi-electron photocatalysts. Solar energy ; Photosynthesis ; Quantum Physics Scientific result Mon, 30 Aug 2021 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2021/Plants-dissipation-exces-energy.aspx In a study published in JBC, a team from I2BC/CEA-Joliot, in collaboration with the Beijing Botanical Institute (China), describes for the first time an intermediate state of the light-harvesting antenna of higher plants that provides a better understanding of the changes that take place at the molecular level during the activation of a plant's photoprotection mechanism. Photosynthesis ; Molecular mechanisms Researchers SB2SM Scientific result Raman analyzer; Mon, 05 Jul 2021 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2021/Small-RNA-regulates-photoprotection-cyanobacteria.aspx A team of the I2BC (LMB/SB2SM), in collaboration with the Institute of Biology (Freiburg University), discovered a posttranscriptional regulatory mechanism linking the expression of the cyanobacterial Orange Carotenoid Protein, related to photoprotection, directly and in an inverse fashion, to the synthesis of the light collector complexes (phycobilisomes), via a 3’ end-derived small RNA. Photosynthesis ; Microalgae ; Molecular mechanisms Scientific result Wed, 23 Jun 2021 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Institute/2020/Bruno-Robert-awarded-Honoris-causa-Professor-Vilnius.aspx This appointment comes after more than 15 years of close scientific collaboration between Bruno Robert's team in CEA Paris-Saclay and the Physics Department of the University of Vilnius. Quantum Physics ; Photosynthesis News ; Article Thu, 19 Nov 2020 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2020/Cyanothece-PCC7425-new-model-cyanobacterium-limonene.aspx I2BC and SCBM teams have identified and reprogrammed a new model of cyanobacterium, Cyanothece PCC 7425, for the photosynthetic production of a high value-added monoterpene, limonene, used in many industrial applications. Photosynthesis ; Microalgae Scientific result Tue, 17 Nov 2020 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2020/Methylglyoxal-detoxification-in-cyanobacteria.aspx A team from I2BC (SB2SM) used a combination of in vitro and in vivo approaches in the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis to establish a logical, but as yet never described, link between the detoxification of methylglyoxal, a toxic metabolite, and glutathione S-transferase, an enzyme of the xenobiotic metabolism, conserved during evolution. Photosynthesis ; Toxicology ; Microalgae News Fri, 04 Sep 2020 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2020/Artificial-photosynthesis-nano-polymer-mimicking-PSII.aspx Researchers from the I2BC (SB2SM), in collaboration with CNRS (LCP, ICMMO) have designed an original artificial photosynthesis approach, based on the use of semiconductor nanopolymers composed of PolyDiPhenylButadiyne, capable of reproducing the full photo-redox reaction of plant Photosystem II, that is the production of O2 by photo-oxidation of water and the reduction of a quinone. Photosynthesis ; Bio-inspired catalysis Scientific result Tue, 07 Jul 2020 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2020/Characterization-new-player-tolerance-thermal-oxidative-stress.aspx Researchers from SB2SM (I2BC@Saclay) have shown for the first time in vivo in the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis that a cellular detoxification enzyme, the membrane glutathione-S-transferase (GST), maintained in part by evolution, plays a major role in resistance to thermal and oxidative stress, making this cellular model a valuable tool for the study of GSTs conserved from bacteria to plants, down to Humans. Photosynthesis ; Stress response Scientific result Tue, 18 Feb 2020 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2019/A-clean-efficient-photocatalysis-production-compounds-interest.aspx A team from I2BC@Saclay, in collaboration with the CNRS (ICMMO, UPSud and ISM2, Aix-Marseille University) has shown that the use of a reversible electron acceptor, able to accept and transfer an electron, in place of a sacrificial electron donor optimizes efficient and clean photocatalysis reactions for the production of organic compounds of interest. Photosynthesis ; Bio-inspired catalysis Scientific result Fri, 18 Oct 2019 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2019/A-ferredoxin-to-fuel-metabolic-pathways.aspx Researchers at BIAM and I2BC@Saclay, in collaboration with Japanese colleagues from Okayama University and Ehime, have characterized in a cyanobacterium a minor protein that diverts part of the energy from photosynthesis to secondary metabolic pathways. This discovery is promising to exploit these metabolic pathways in a biotechnological process of bioenergy production. Biotechnology ; Bioenergy ; Photosynthesis Scientific result Mon, 14 Oct 2019 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2019/Molecular-evolution-Orange-Carotenoid-Protein-elucidated.aspx A new phylogenetic analysis of the Orange Carotenoid Proteins (OCPs) family, responsible for photoprotection in cyanobacteria, coupled with a functional study, was conducted by a team from I2BC@Saclay. This is the first functional study of the ancestral OCPX which, when compared to OCP1 and OCP2, revealed the molecular determinants that govern the photocycle of these proteins and in particular the fundamental role of the linker connecting the two domains of OCPs. Photosynthesis Scientific result Fri, 04 Oct 2019 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2019/Elucidation-activation-mechanism-new-photoreceptor.aspx In collaboration with teams from ENS (Paris) and the University of Marburg, researchers from I2BC@Saclay have elucidated, by optical time-resolved spectroscopy, the complete phooactivation mechanism of a new cryptochrome of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, CraCRY. Photosynthesis Scientific result Thu, 19 Sep 2019 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2019/New-light-on-photosynthesis-regulation-in-the-ancient-cyanobacteria-.aspx Plants, algae, cyanobacteria regulate their photosynthesis so that it is as effective as possible and not deleterious. A sutdy led by a SB2SM team unveils one of the mechanisms of regulation in cyanobacteria and show that it is very different from that equivalent in plants and algae. Photosynthesis SB2SM Scientific result plastoquinone;cytochrome b6f;photosystem;cyanobacteria; Wed, 20 Mar 2019 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2018/Recycle-carbone-dioxide-efficiently-cleanly.aspx A collaboration involving the SB2SM (I2BC@Saclay) works on bio-inspired processes to recycle carbon dioxide (CO2), a major environmental problem. Researchers have formulated a new catalyzer very efficient for reducing CO2 in water. The study has been published in Chemical Communications. Recovery of CO2 ; Photosynthesis SB2SM Scientific result Tue, 27 Nov 2018 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2018/valorisation-carbon-dioxide.aspx ​In studies published in ChemPhotoChem, I2BC@Saclay, SCBM and ICMMO researchers have developed a gentle method for photo-CO2 reduction by molecular catalysts, followed by a carbonylation reaction that immediately reuse the CO produced. This device can be used for the introduction of radioactive carbon atoms into molecules of therapeutic interest. Green Chemistry ; Photosynthesis Scientific result Thu, 06 Sep 2018 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2018/artificial-photosynthesis-second-electron.aspx A Research Team from I2BC@Saclay (SB2SM), in collaboration with ISMO and ICMMO teams (CNRS / Univ.Paris-Sud, Univ.Paris-Saclay) measured accumulation kinetics of electrical charges within a molecular system designed for studies on artificial photosynthesis. These works, published in Angewandte Chemie, show for the first time the second electron of this fundamental process about the conversion of light energy into fuel. Health ＆ life sciences ; Photosynthesis Scientific result Wed, 21 Feb 2018 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2017/A-plant-strategy-for-betterenergy_technology.aspx Researchers from SB2SM and four other Research Teams (Yale University, Arizona State University, Argonne National Lab and Institute for High Performance Computing, Singapore) have identified a photosynthesis mechanism that protects plants from excess light energy . These results could contribute to the development of more efficient energy systems in new solar technologies. Photosynthesis ; Solar energy Scientific result Fri, 07 Jul 2017 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Institute/2017/MOMENTOM_project_at_the_SB2SM.aspx Winfried Leibl (SB2SM) is a member of the steering committee of the MOMENTOM project (MOlecules and Materials for the ENergy of TOMorrow, IRS PARIS-SACLAY, 2017-2020) This project, funded within the framework of the Strategic Research Initiatives (IRS) of Paris-Saclay University, concerns molecules and materials for the energy of tomorrow. Institutional ; Photosynthesis ; Bioenergy News Mon, 26 Jun 2017 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/ARCHIVES/IBITECS_anglais/News/2015/High-light-induced-hydrogen-peroxide-production-.aspx The rate of oxygen reduction by photosynthetic electron transport is significant in the presence of high concentrations of CO2 and not under CO2 limitation. Photosynthesis News Wed, 12 Apr 2017 13:22:22 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2017/Bicarbonate_new_redox_regulator_for_Photosystem_II.aspx ​This work, stemming from a collaboration between researchers from Imperial College London and an SB2SM Research Team, resolved a long-standing ambiguity about the redox potential (Em) value of the primary quinone, QA, of the Photosystem II (PSII). In addition, the authors discovered a new and very important phenomenon for the PSII: a reversible control effect of the redox potential of QA induced by binding of bicarbonate. Photosynthesis Scientific result Tue, 31 Jan 2017 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/ARCHIVES/IBITECS_anglais/News/2015/Protection_from_too_much_light.aspx Photosynthetic organisms protect themselves from too much light using pigment photoswitches that absorb excess energy. American scientists (Berkeley, Michigan State University) and French researchers (SB2SM team) analyzed the structure of an active, energy-dissipating form of the orange carotenoid protein (OCP) from a cyanobacterium. Photosynthesis News Fri, 26 Jun 2015 10:00:00 GMT