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David Husic, associate professor and head of chemistry, will speak on “Inorganic Carbon Acquisition in the Unicellular Green Alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii,” 12:10 p.m. Monday, April 29, in room 205 of Hugel Science Center.
Free and pizza soda will be available at noon. The event is sponsored by the chemistry department.
“The unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and a variety of other aquatic photosynthetic organisms have developed systems that allow them to acquire atmospheric carbon dioxide much more effectively than most terrestrial plants,” says Husic. “This is important because photosynthetic organisms utilize carbon dioxide for the light-dependent synthesis of carbohydrates, which in turn leads to plant growth and biomass production. Furthermore, many plants can be growth-limited because of the low levels of carbon dioxide that are present in the atmosphere. An understanding of how the highly efficient carbon dioxide acquisition systems work in organisms like Chlamydomonas reinhardtii may be of value in learning how to improve carbon dioxide utilization in higher plants.”
Husic has involved about 30 students in his research. He received the Jones Faculty Lecture Award in 1992. He graduated cum laude with a degree in biochemistry from Penn State in 1997 and earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Michigan State University in 1982.