Systems analysis of the response of photosynthesis, metabolism and growth to an increase in irradiance in the photosynthesis model organism Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Systems analysis reveals that Chlamydomonas reinhardtii responds rapidly and flexibly to an increase in light intensity. Rising metabolite levels and post-translation regulation facilitate a rapid increase in the rate of carbon fixation and a slightly delayed increase in the rate of growth, and slower changes in protein abundance adjust allocation and minimize bottlenecks in the new conditions. Gene expression was measured from samples of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cell cultures at four time points (two under low, four under high light) under either low (41 µmol) or high (145 µmol) light conditions in two separate bioreactors. Three biological replicate time series were sampled.