9 May 2016

Talk by Alan Rendall

Professor Alan Rendall, Johannes-Gutenberg University, Mainz, will give a talk at the NBI on 12-05-2016, with the title "Dynamics of the Calvin Cycle".


Abstract: The Calvin cycle is a central part of photosynthesis where carbon fixation takes place. There exist a number of different mathematical models for this process in the literature. They differ in the number of chemical species included and the assumptions made on the kinetics of the chemical reactions involved. I will discuss the dynamical properties of solutions of ODE models for the Calvin cycle. Issues discussed include whether concentrations may tend to zero at late times (which might be caused by too much inorganic phosphate in the cytosol) and the multiplicity and stability of steady states. The mathematical techniques in this analysis include centre manifold theory and geometric singular perturbation theory.