New tools provide new opportunities.
We have generated a genome-wide collection of 60,000 insertion mutants in the leading model alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as a powerful resource for the research community [1][2][3], and have started to use it to connect genotypes to phenotypes on a massive scale [4] (mutants can be searched and ordered here). We have leveraged this resource to discover dozens of novel genes with roles in photosynthesis, including key regulatory factors of the photosynthetic apparatus [5].
We have systematically characterized protein localizations and protein-protein interactions in the pyrenoid [6] and chloroplast [7], revealing novel sub-structures and the functions of key proteins.
We now seek to expand the discovery of novel pathways to a genome-wide scale by leveraging high-throughput genetics, protein localization, and protein-protein interactions.