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My primary research interest is the elucidation of the structure and function of the proteins associated with Photosystem II in higher plants and cyanobacteria. We are particularly interested in examining the interactions between the intrinsic components (CP47, CP43, D1, D2, cytochrome b559 and a number of other low molecular mass peptides) and the extrinsic components (33, 24, and 17kDa) of this membrane protein complex. My group is utilizing site-specific labeling, protein crosslinking and site-directed mutagenesis to investigate these associations. Recently, we have demonstrated that the three extrinsic proteins associated with Photosystem II are required for photoautotrophy and photosystem assembly and stability in Arabidopsis. See our laboratory home page Photosystem II at LSU
Yi, X., Liu, H., Hargett, S., Frankel, L.K., and Bricker, T.M., “The PsbP Protein is Required for Photosystem II Complex Assembly/Stability and Photoautotrophy in Arabidopsis thaliana”. Journal of Biological Chemistry 34:24833-24841 (2007).
Liu, H., Frankel, L.K. and Bricker, T.M., "Functional Analysis of Photosystem II in a PsbO-1 Deficient Mutant in Arabidopsis thaliana". Biochemistry 46: 7607-7613 (2007).
Mason, C.B., Bricker, T.M., and Moroney, J.V., “A Rapid Method for Chloroplast Isolation from the Green Alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii”. Nature-Protocols 1:2227-2230 (2006). Cover Article.
Lee, J., Bricker, T.M., LeFevre, M.P., Shannon R.M. and Oard, J.H. Proteomic and Genetic Approaches to Identifying Defense-Related Proteins in Rice Challenged with the Fungal Pathogen Rhizoctonia solani. Molecular Plant Pathology 7: 405-416 (2006).
Yi, X., Hargett, S.R., Frankel, L.K. and Bricker, T.M., The PsbQ Protein is Required for Arabidopsis Photosystem II Assembly/Stability and Photoautotrophy under Low Light Conditions”. Journal of Biological Chemistry 281:26260-26267 (2006).
Bricker, T.M., “Commentary: A Time Resolved Vibrational Spectroscopy Glimpse of the Oxygen-Evolving Complex of Photosystem II”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) 103:7205-7206 (2006).
Bricker, T.M. and Burnap, R., “The Extrinsic Proteins of Photosystem II.” In Photosystem II: The Light-Driven Water:Plastoquinone Oxidoreductase (Wydrzynski, T. and Satoh, K., eds), pp. 95-120, Springer (2005).
Meades, Jr., G.D., McLachlan, A., Sallans, L., Limbach, P.A., and Bricker, T.M. “Association of the 17 kDa Extrinsic Protein with Photosystem II in Higher Plants” Biochemistry 44, 15216-15221 (2005).
Yi, X., McChargue, M., Laborde, S., Frankel, L.K. and Bricker, T.M. “The Manganese-Stabilizing Protein is Required for Photosystem II Assembly/Stability in Higher Plants” Journal of Biological Chemistry 280: 16170–16174 (2005).
Bricker, T.M., Zhang, S., Laborde, S.M., Mayer III, P.R., Frankel, L.K and Moroney, J.V., “The Malic Enzyme is Required for Efficient Photoautotrophic Growth in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 under Continuous Illumination but not under Diurnal Light Regimes”. Journal of Bacteriology, 186,8144-8148 (2004).
Zhang, S., Laborde, S.M., Frankel, L.K. and Bricker, T.M., “Identification of Four Novel Genes Required for Efficient Photoautotrophic Growth of the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 by In Vitro Transposon Mutagenesis.” Journal of Bacteriology 186,875-879 (2004).
Bricker, T.M. and Frankel, L.K., “Carboxylate Groups on the Manganese-Stabilizing Protein are Required for Efficient Binding of the 24 kDa Extrinsic Protein to Photosystem II”. Biochemistry 42,2056-2061 (2003).
Young, A., McChargue, M. Bricker, T.M., Frankel, L.K. and Putnam-Evans, C., “Alterations of the Oxygen-Evolving Apparatus in an 305Arg ?305S Mutant in the CP43 Protein of Photosystem II from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 under Chloride-Limiting Conditions". Biochemistry 41,15747-15753 (2002).
Bricker, T.M., Young, A., Frankel, L.K., and Putnam-Evans, C., “Introduction of the 305Arg ? 305Ser Mutation in the Large Extrinsic Loop E of the CP43 Protein of Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 Leads to the Loss of Cytochrome c550 Binding to Photosystem II”. Biochemica et Biophysica Acta 1556,92-96 (2002).