Work in the HEAL Group is supported by an ERC Starting Grant, “ChloroMosaic” (grant number 101039760: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101039760/fr), awarded 2023-2028.

Ocean photosynthesis is performed by cyanobacteria and eukaryotic algae. These eukaryotic algae originate via the endosymbiotic acquisition of chloroplasts, and many of the most prominent marine algal groups possess chloroplasts derived from the secondary or higher endosymbiotic uptake of eukaryotic red algae. The EU-funded ChloroMosaic programme aims to understand the fundamentals of the evolution and future ecology of the planet, explaining the success of the secondary red chloroplasts in the modern ocean. The secondary red chloroplasts are evolutionary mosaics and supported by nucleus-encoded proteins of the symbiont. ChloroMosaic will perform proteomic analysis of the dinoflagellate chloroplasts to identify proteins, enabling the dominant contribution of secondary red chloroplasts to marine production and defining potential biomarkers of the resilience of algal communities to anthropogenic climate change