Robert Blankenship

Titles:

Lucille P. Markey Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences, Departments of Biology and Chemistry

Office Contact Information

Degrees:

Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Washington

Degrees:

Postdoctoral Fellow, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory

Degrees:

Ph.D. University of California, Berkley

Degrees:

B.S. Nebraska Wesleyan University

Office:

Laboratory Sciences 401B

Mailbox:

Campus Box 1134

Phone:

314-935-7971

Email:

blankenship@wustl.edu

URL:

Laboratory Website

Research specialization

Bioinorganic Chemistry; Biological Chemistry; Biophysical Chemistry; Electron transfer; Energy transfer; Evolution; Laser Spectroscopy; Metalloproteins;

Research

Our research program is primarily concerned with elucidating the mechanism of the energy-storing reactions in photosynthetic organisms, as well as understanding the origin and early evolution of photosynthesis.

The chemical reactions leading to long-term energy storage in photosynthetic systems take place within the membrane-bound reaction center complex and an associated group of proteins that make up an electron transport chain. One of the central goals of our research is to identify the molecular parameters responsible for the fact that essentially every photon absorbed by the system leads to stable products. To this end, we do a variety of kinetic, thermodynamic and structural measurements on antenna complexes, reaction centers, electron transport proteins and isolated pigments, using a number of techniques, including ultrafast laser flash photolysis and UV-VIS, fluorescence and electron spin resonance spectroscopies, as well as biochemical and molecular biological analysis.

RC_overlay

Structural comparisons of reaction center proteins.

The appearance of photosynthesis and other metabolic processes such as nitrogen fixation had profound effects on the evolution of advanced life on Earth. Our analysis of whole bacterial genomes has revealed that these metabolic processes have complex evolutionary histories, including substantial horizontal gene transfer. We have also used a combination of genomic, molecular evolution techniques and biochemical analysis to identify and characterize previously unknown enzyme complexes with novel activities.

dividing bacterium

Electron microscopic tomogram of a dividing photosynthetic bacterium

Related DBBS Links

Biochemistry

Molecular Biophysics

Plant Biology

Centers

Photosynthetic Antenna Research Center (PARC)

Awards & Honors:

Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Charles F. Kettering Award for Excellence in Photosynthesis, American Society of Plant Biologists, 2008
Graduate Mentoring Award, Arizona State University
Graduate College Distinguished Research Award, Arizona State University
Alumni Achievement Award, Nebraska Wesleyan University

Appointments

2006-present, Professor of Biology and Chemistry, Washington University in St. Louis
2002-2006, Chair, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University
1988-2006, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University
1985-1988, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University
1979-1985, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Amherst College, MA
1976-1979, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington

Publications

Lee M, del Rosario MC, Harris HH, Blankenship RE, Guss JM and Freeman HC (2009) The Crystal Structure of Auracyanin A at 1.85Å Resolution: The Structures and Functions of Auracyanins A and B, Two Almost Identical 'Blue' Copper Proteins, in the Photosynthetic Bacterium Chloroflexus aurantiacus. J. Biological Inorganic Chemistry, 14: 329-345.
Wen J, Zhao H, Gross ML and Blankenship RE (2009) Surface Mapping of the FMO Antenna Protein on the Native Membrane from Chlorobium tepidum by a Combination of Chemical Labeling and Mass Spectrometry. Proc. Nat'l. Acad. Sci. USA, In Press.
CollinsAM, Xin Y, and Blankenship RE (2009) Pigment Organization in the Photosynthetic Apparatus of Roseiflexus castenholzii. Biochim Biophys Acta, In Press.
Swingley WD, Chen M, Cheung PC, Conrad AL, Dejesa LC, Hao J, Honchak BM, Karbach LE, Kurdoglu A, Lahiri S, Mastrian SD, Miyashita H, Page LE, Ramakrishna P, Satoh S, Sattley WM, Shimada Y, Taylor HL, Tomo T, Tsuchiya T, Wang ZT, Raymond J, Mimuro M, Blankenship RE and Touchman JW (2008) Niche adaptation and genome expansion in the chlorophyll d-producing cyanobacterium Acaryochloris marina. Proc. Nat'l. Acad. Sci. USA 105: 2005-2010.
Engel GS, Calhoun TR, Read EL, Ahn TK, Mancal T, Cheng Y-C, Blankenship RE and Fleming GR (2007) Evidence for wavelike energy transfer through quantum coherence in photosynthetic systems. Nature 446: 782-786.

Courses Taught

List courses:

CHEM 481 General Biochemistry I
CHEM 481 Inorganic Biochemistry

Curriculum Vitae:

Blankenship CV.pdf