CRC 1078/2: Spectroscopic Investigations of Proton Transfer Processes and Hydrogenbonded Networks in Phytochromes and Channelrhodopsins (SP B05)

The focus in this project is on the spectroscopic investigation of different representatives of channelrhodopsins and phytochromes. The aim is to explore the photochemistry and the protonation dynamics that direct the photocycles and consequently the function of these photoreceptors on a molecular level. The mechanisms of the different representatives of channelrhodopsins and phytochromes investigated in this and in other projects will be compared in order to reveal differences and similarities and thus reveal generic principles of the reaction pathways within the two classes of photoreceptors.