Photosynthetic microorganisms are fundamental to life on Earth: they are at the base of major food webs (e.g. in the oceans) and contribute to about half of the world's oxygen production. They are also one of the most promising systems for developing complex chemicals and biofuels, with unparalleled conversion rate of solar energy into carbon-rich molecules and negligible pressure on arable land.

The fitness of photosynthetic microorganisms depends on their ability to detect, elaborate and respond to external stimuli, especially light. Light has two functions in this context: detected by photoreceptors, it provides spatiotemporal information, used, for example, to regulate the cell cycle; absorbed by chloroplast pigments, it supplies energy for photosynthesis. To thrive, microalgae developed the ability to integrate information and energy provided by light, through complex mechanisms that are currently not well understood.

In this highly interdisciplinary project, we will use a novel combination of experiments and mathematical models to achieve a quantitative understanding of phototaxis, their regulation and effect on photosynthesis, and their connection with intracellular processes of photoprotection, linking the mechanics of cell motility with the dynamics of cell physiology in the context of modern microbial biophysics.