Welcome to Fujii Lab!
Ritsuko Fujii's research interests focus on the excited- and ground-state structures and functions of photosynthetic pigments, i.e. carotenoids and chlorophylls. They play a crucial role in the primary energy- and electron-transfer processes in photosynthesis. Photosynthetic pigments do not contain rare elements and are composed only of abundant elements on Earth, but they achieve efficient photoreactions by binding to pigment-protein complexes. The structures of photosynthetic pigments in protein, including distortions and relative arrangements, control the primary process of photosynthesis.
Press Release (last update: 2026.02.04)
- Early marine algae adapted their light-harvesting systems for weak blue-green light, suggesting how photosynthesis evolved
- Oct 22, 2025 Photosynthesis without the burn
- Marine algae use a unique pigment, siphonein, to shield photosynthesis from excess light Osaka Metropolitan University scientists use cryogenic electron microscopy to investigate how the marine green macroalga Codium fragile photosynthesizes
- Oct 28, 2024 Quality control in artificial photosynthesis: validating natural antenna mimicry
- Scientists develop new approach to analyze 3D structure of lab-made photosynthetic antenna
- Dec 14, 2022 Shedding light on photosynthesis at sea
- Osaka Metropolitan University scientists use cryogenic electron microscopy to investigate how the marine green macroalga Codium fragile photosynthesizes