Tanai Cardona
@tanaicardona.bsky.social
Reader in SynBio and Biotech @ QMUL, UKRI Futures Leaders Fellow, MA in Creative Writing from BirkbeckUoL. Evolution and #Synbio of #Photosynthesis 🌵🌺
Pinned
Tanai Cardona
@tanaicardona.bsky.social
· May 28
Exploring the Structural Diversity and Evolution of the D1 Subunit of Photosystem II Using AlphaFold and Foldtree
Although our knowledge of photosystem II has expanded to include time-resolved atomic details, the diversity of experimental structures of the enzyme remains limited. Recent advances in protein struc...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Our paper on testing #Alphafold predictions and structural phylogenetics of a #photosystem subunit is now published in @pplplantarum.bsky.social. Work by @tomdongmin.bsky.social, with JW Murray & D Pretorius at Imperial. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... @qmulse.bsky.social @qmul.ac.uk 🌳
Reposted by Tanai Cardona
New paper from the lab from Sriram Garg in my group. We introduce a general substitution matrix for structural phylogenetics. I think this is a big deal, so read on below if you think deep history is important. academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...
A general substitution matrix for structural phylogenetics.
Abstract. Sequence-based maximum likelihood (ML) phylogenetics is a widely used method for inferring evolutionary relationships, which has illuminated the
academic.oup.com
June 11, 2025 at 2:01 PM
New paper from the lab from Sriram Garg in my group. We introduce a general substitution matrix for structural phylogenetics. I think this is a big deal, so read on below if you think deep history is important. academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...
Reposted by Tanai Cardona
UK immigration policy is destabilising international academics’ careers. The effort of staying compliant with fluctuating regulations diminishes the mental space for teaching, research and building belonging, say Zahra Sharifonnasabu et al
www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/uk-i...
www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/uk-i...
UK immigration policy is destabilising international academics’ careers
The effort of staying compliant with fluctuating regulations diminishes the mental space for teaching, research and building belonging, say Zahra Sharifonnasabi, Fleura Bardhi and Laetitia Mimoun
www.timeshighereducation.com
June 8, 2025 at 5:49 PM
UK immigration policy is destabilising international academics’ careers. The effort of staying compliant with fluctuating regulations diminishes the mental space for teaching, research and building belonging, say Zahra Sharifonnasabu et al
www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/uk-i...
www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/uk-i...
Our paper on testing #Alphafold predictions and structural phylogenetics of a #photosystem subunit is now published in @pplplantarum.bsky.social. Work by @tomdongmin.bsky.social, with JW Murray & D Pretorius at Imperial. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... @qmulse.bsky.social @qmul.ac.uk 🌳
Exploring the Structural Diversity and Evolution of the D1 Subunit of Photosystem II Using AlphaFold and Foldtree
Although our knowledge of photosystem II has expanded to include time-resolved atomic details, the diversity of experimental structures of the enzyme remains limited. Recent advances in protein struc...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
May 28, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Our paper on testing #Alphafold predictions and structural phylogenetics of a #photosystem subunit is now published in @pplplantarum.bsky.social. Work by @tomdongmin.bsky.social, with JW Murray & D Pretorius at Imperial. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... @qmulse.bsky.social @qmul.ac.uk 🌳
Our paper: Structure and evolution of photosystem I in the early-branching cyanobacterium Anthocerotibacter panamensis is out now in PNAS! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... Great collab with the labs of Ming-Yang Ho and Chris Girsiel.
Structure and evolution of photosystem I in the early-branching cyanobacterium Anthocerotibacter panamensis | PNAS
Thylakoid-free cyanobacteria are thought to preserve ancestral traits of early-evolving
organisms capable of oxygenic photosynthesis. However, and ...
www.pnas.org
May 14, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Our paper: Structure and evolution of photosystem I in the early-branching cyanobacterium Anthocerotibacter panamensis is out now in PNAS! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... Great collab with the labs of Ming-Yang Ho and Chris Girsiel.
Reposted by Tanai Cardona
Happy to present the lab latest work, today from the green-side. The ultimate PSII assembly intermediate that directly precedes incorporation of the Mn4O5Ca cluster and formation of the OEC. Psb32 binds to PsbV, challenging the assumption the extrinsic subunits all associate spontaneously in-vivo.
May 12, 2025 at 5:50 AM
Happy to present the lab latest work, today from the green-side. The ultimate PSII assembly intermediate that directly precedes incorporation of the Mn4O5Ca cluster and formation of the OEC. Psb32 binds to PsbV, challenging the assumption the extrinsic subunits all associate spontaneously in-vivo.
Our work applying #AlphaFold prediction and structural phylogenetics to the D1 subunit of #photosystem II is now on BioRxiv! This project was spearheaded by @tomdongmin.bsky.social in my lab, in collab with D. Pretorius and J. W. Murray. Check it out: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #photosynthesis
Exploring the structural diversity and evolution of the D1 subunit of photosystem II using AlphaFold and Foldtree
While our knowledge of photosystem II has expanded to time-resolved atomic details, the diversity of experimental structures of the enzyme remains limited. Recent advances in protein structure predict...
www.biorxiv.org
March 7, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Our work applying #AlphaFold prediction and structural phylogenetics to the D1 subunit of #photosystem II is now on BioRxiv! This project was spearheaded by @tomdongmin.bsky.social in my lab, in collab with D. Pretorius and J. W. Murray. Check it out: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #photosynthesis
Reposted by Tanai Cardona
It’s on! The first step to bring the evolution of photosystem into 3D with structure prediction.
Exploring the structural diversity and evolution of the D1 subunit of photosystem II using AlphaFold and Foldtree https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.06.641835v1
March 7, 2025 at 9:22 AM
It’s on! The first step to bring the evolution of photosystem into 3D with structure prediction.
Fascinating study. "Oxidative adaptations in prokaryotes imply the oxygenic #photosynthesis before the crown group Cyanobacteria" Although, one only needs to look at the #evolution of photosystem II to understand what happened... 😃
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ad...
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ad...
Oxidative adaptations in prokaryotes imply the oxygenic photosynthesis before the crown group Cyanobacteria
Abstract. The metabolic transition from anaerobic to aerobic in prokaryotes reflects adaptations to oxidative stress. Methanogen, one of the earliest life
academic.oup.com
February 7, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Fascinating study. "Oxidative adaptations in prokaryotes imply the oxygenic #photosynthesis before the crown group Cyanobacteria" Although, one only needs to look at the #evolution of photosystem II to understand what happened... 😃
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ad...
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ad...
Reposted by Tanai Cardona
🚨 TREES Projects Are Live! 🚨
🌍 Over 120 PhD projects now available on the TREES website! Explore Route 1 projects or develop your own Route 2 proposal.
🗓️ Applications are open—deadline: 20th Jan 2025.
🔗 www.trees-dla.ac.uk
#PhD #EnvironmentalScience #TREESDLA
🌍 Over 120 PhD projects now available on the TREES website! Explore Route 1 projects or develop your own Route 2 proposal.
🗓️ Applications are open—deadline: 20th Jan 2025.
🔗 www.trees-dla.ac.uk
#PhD #EnvironmentalScience #TREESDLA
December 6, 2024 at 1:49 PM
🚨 TREES Projects Are Live! 🚨
🌍 Over 120 PhD projects now available on the TREES website! Explore Route 1 projects or develop your own Route 2 proposal.
🗓️ Applications are open—deadline: 20th Jan 2025.
🔗 www.trees-dla.ac.uk
#PhD #EnvironmentalScience #TREESDLA
🌍 Over 120 PhD projects now available on the TREES website! Explore Route 1 projects or develop your own Route 2 proposal.
🗓️ Applications are open—deadline: 20th Jan 2025.
🔗 www.trees-dla.ac.uk
#PhD #EnvironmentalScience #TREESDLA
Reposted by Tanai Cardona
Reminder: We have made a Researchers on Cyanobacteria Starter Pack. If you would like to be included, please let us know.
go.bsky.app/BBgq3df
go.bsky.app/BBgq3df
November 25, 2024 at 11:42 AM
Reminder: We have made a Researchers on Cyanobacteria Starter Pack. If you would like to be included, please let us know.
go.bsky.app/BBgq3df
go.bsky.app/BBgq3df
Several PhD opportunities are available to join my group, the Molecular Evolution Lab at QMUL! 🌴 If you’re interested in the origin and evolution of #photosynthesis or #cyanobacteria, or in applying #SynBio to photosynthetic enzymes, get in touch! cardonalab.uk/joinus Please share! Thank you.
Join us — The Molecular Evolution Lab
A PhD studentship funded by an EPSRC DTP (3.5 years) is currently available in the Molecular Evolution Lab. The project objective is to apply and develop synthetic biology approaches, leveraging direc...
cardonalab.uk
December 4, 2024 at 4:47 PM
Several PhD opportunities are available to join my group, the Molecular Evolution Lab at QMUL! 🌴 If you’re interested in the origin and evolution of #photosynthesis or #cyanobacteria, or in applying #SynBio to photosynthetic enzymes, get in touch! cardonalab.uk/joinus Please share! Thank you.
Interesting! www.cell.com/current-biol... but just as I predicted (suspected) based on a few published observations: doi.org/10.1016/j.bb... 😄
Non-photosynthetic lineages sibling to Cyanobacteria associate with eukaryotes in the open ocean
Wittmers et al. show associations of prokaryotes and eukaryotes in the ocean using
single-cell genomics on wild protists. The Marinamargulisbacteria are enigmatic, non-photosynthetic
relatives of cyan...
www.cell.com
November 20, 2024 at 4:11 PM
Interesting! www.cell.com/current-biol... but just as I predicted (suspected) based on a few published observations: doi.org/10.1016/j.bb... 😄