GCOE Workshop on "Plant Photosynthesis and Environment" report
A GCOE workshop with the distinguished researcher Professor David M. Kramer (Washington State University) was held at NAIST on March 4th, 2009, organized by Drs. Kinya Akashi and Yuri Munekage and Prof. Akiho Yokota. Prof. Kramer is well-known for his pioneering work on the regulation of electrochemical potential across thylakoid membranes in plant photosynthesis. In this workshop, nine oral presentations were given by Prof. Kramer and other researchers from Japanese universities including NAIST, with vivid discussions about their current work concerning plant photosynthesis and the environment. Approximately 40 participants from both within and outside NAIST attended the workshop. After the oral presentations, a demonstration of "NARA-SPEC", a unique instrument for measuring the electrochromic potential of photosynthetic membranes, took place in one of the NAIST greenhouses. This machine was constructed in Prof. Kramer's laboratory, and the demonstration stimulated a lot of questions and discussions on theoretical and practical aspects of the measurement of electrochemical potential in plant leaves in vivo. Overall, this workshop offered great opportunities for our young scientists and students to promote their research activities.
