STSM1 Report Andrew O'Hara

UVR8 Action Spectrum

Andrew O’Hara visited Prof. A. Strid in Sweden for 5 days in February/March 2011

 

The purpose of the visit was to undertake a pilot study to establish the best protocol to produce an action spectrum for a primary light response of the plant UV-B photoreceptor UVR8. Previous studies have established that UVR8 is a key regulator of photomorphogenic UV-B responses. The action spectrum will provide important information that will help to understand how UVR8 functions. To obtain an action spectrum it is necessary to illuminate samples at specific wavelengths over a range of doses and measure a response. Professor Strid’s laboratory has a special tunable laser facility that can be used for these experiments. We assayed the conversion of UVR8 from its dimeric form to a monomer at a range of doses at several wavelengths. The pilot study was successful in optimizing the conditions of illumination and hence provided a basis for further experiments to produce the detailed action spectrum.

 

 

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