Review: Systems-wide understanding of photosynthetic acclimation in algae and higher plants ($)

Deriving energy from light is a bit like keeping your hands warm by juggling burning coals; doable but dangerous. Photosynthetic organisms constantly adjust their photosynthetic machinery to optimize energy production but avoid damage from excess light. Moejes et al.  describe a large-scale project, AccliPhot, that combined theoretical and experimental approaches to understand photosynthetic acclimation in algae and higher plants. They also describe progress towards using these insights to improve algal culture systems to optimize lipid production for biofuels. J. Exp. Bot. 10.1093/jxb/erx137