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Protein Rainbow

MIT/WHOI Joint Program student Annette Hynes displays test tubes filled with phycobiliproteins (soluble pigments) extracted from different cultured strains of Trichodesmium, a nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria. The different colors may indicate varied abilities to use different colors of light for photosynthesis. Working with WHOI biologist John Waterbury, Annette is examining how these bacteria adapt to different niche around the world. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)