Engineering a pyrenoid into crops could boost yields, but testing components in plants takes months. To accelerate engineering, we made Nicotiana benthamiana with hybrid algal Rubisco, enabling the reconstitution of pyrenoid number regulation in a plant! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Профиль
Martin Jonikas
Профиль VivelyI'm a scientist studying and engineering CO2 assimilation in plants, algae, chloroplasts, and pyrenoids! https://jonikaslab.princeton.edu/
The algal pyrenoid turbocharges global CO2 fixation. Central to its function are specialized membranes that deliver CO2. We discovered that the protein RBMP2 makes these membranes—and found that the mysterious minitubules appear to enhance CO₂ delivery! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Pyrenoid tubules are essential for supercharging CO₂ fixation, but they're hard to resolve by microscopy. So, we physically expanded cells to see where different proteins go (3 examples below). The central tubule region appears specialized for CO₂ delivery! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
The algal pyrenoid fixes ~1/3 of global carbon, relying on a unique membrane-within-condensate architecture. How is this architecture built? We discovered that the protein MITH1 draws membranes into the pyrenoid condensate by promoting wetting! 🌿💧 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Now published @PNASNews! SAGA1 and SAGA2 localize the starch sheath to the pyrenoid in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
We genetically disconnected starch from the matrix in the algal pyrenoid! A saga1;saga2 double mutant lacks a starch sheath! Our model: SAGA1 & SAGA2 locally initiate starch on the pyrenoid surface by enriching starch precursors. 🌞🦠🔬🔌👀 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
@hhmi_science's #FreemanHrabowski Scholars Program offers early career faculty up to $10M over 10 yrs, + salary & benefits. Postdocs can apply too. Opens 11/3! www.hhmi.org/programs/fre...
Now published @natcellbio.nature.com! Kinase KEY1 controls pyrenoid condensate size throughout the cell cycle by disrupting phase separation interactions www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Martin JonikasAlgal pyrenoids—condensates that mediate ~1/3 of Earth’s CO2 fixation—change size and number as cells divide. Our data suggest a simple control mechanism: a kinase that continuously ejects material from the condensate! ☀️🌍🔬💧 #Biophysics #Photosynthesis www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Congratulations, Shan and Linnea!
Princeton MolBioToday in Nature Cell Biology, a collaborative effort across labs (Jonikas, Wingreen, Brangwynne) at Princeton discovers the key to regulating a biomolecular condensate. Congrats to first authors Shan He and Linnea Lemma! molbio.princeton.edu/news/2026/ke...
Congrats to Tori, Micah, Aastha, and Lianyong! Grateful to @hhmi-science.bsky.social, NIH, NSF, Gates Foundation, and UK FCDO for supporting the work.
Martin JonikasWe genetically disconnected starch from the matrix in the algal pyrenoid! A saga1;saga2 double mutant lacks a starch sheath! Our model: SAGA1 & SAGA2 locally initiate starch on the pyrenoid surface by enriching starch precursors. 🌞🦠🔬🔌👀 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We genetically disconnected starch from the matrix in the algal pyrenoid! A saga1;saga2 double mutant lacks a starch sheath! Our model: SAGA1 & SAGA2 locally initiate starch on the pyrenoid surface by enriching starch precursors. 🌞🦠🔬🔌👀 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Algal pyrenoids—condensates that mediate ~1/3 of Earth’s CO2 fixation—change size and number as cells divide. Our data suggest a simple control mechanism: a kinase that continuously ejects material from the condensate! ☀️🌍🔬💧 #Biophysics #Photosynthesis www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
I was deeply saddened today to learn of the passing of Steve Long. He was a pioneer and an inspiration to so many of us. Find his obituary here: www.renner-wikoffchapel.com/obituary/Ste...
www.renner-wikoffchapel.comWe are excited to share 71,700 new #Chlamy mutants from the CLiP2 collection pre-publication! Nearly-saturating genome coverage. Please note: new background strain, mating type, and antibiotic resistance. Read: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Search and order: www.chlamylibrary.org
#Postdoc position available in dual-comb #spectroscopy! puwebp.princeton.edu/AcadHire/app... In collaboration with the Rabitz Lab, we are developing a novel instrument that will allow the visualization of the spatial distribution of CO2 and other small molecules in cells!
Grateful to Jean-David Rochaix for this thoughtful commentary article: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Our paper describing the discovery of proteins that make pyrenoid-traversing membranes is finally out! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Excited to share our latest preprint! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...