Using SANS to probe how hydrocarbons in cyanobacteria enable complex membrane architectures and affect the cells response to light

Cyanobacteria are known to produce hydrocarbons between 15-22 carbons in length. The role of these hydrocarbons in cyanobacteria is not known. Since the hydrocarbons are located predominantly in the thylakoid membranes of cyanobacteria, it has been suggested that they aid the bacterial membrane curvature needed to form the complex architectures of photosynthetic membranes. Understanding the role of hydrocarbons in photosynthetic membranes can inform the design of complex membrane structures used in synthetic cells and pharmaceutical formulations. Here we propose to use small angle neutron scattering to study the effect of light and hydrocarbons on the membrane structure, including the time-resolved transition between dark and light conditions.