Energy Transfer and Exciton Annihilation in the B800−850 Antenna Complex of the Photosynthetic Purple BacteriumRhodopseudomonas acidophila(Strain 10050). A Femtosecond Transient Absorption Study

1997 ◽  
Vol 101 (6) ◽  
pp. 1087-1095 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying-Zhong Ma ◽  
Richard J. Cogdell ◽  
Tomas Gillbro
Keyword(s):  
Energy Transfer ◽  
Transient Absorption ◽  
Absorption Study ◽  
Antenna Complex ◽  
Femtosecond Transient Absorption ◽  
Exciton Annihilation

scholarly journals A photosynthetic antenna complex foregoes unity carotenoid-to-bacteriochlorophyll energy transfer efficiency to ensure photoprotection

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (12) ◽  
pp. 6502-6508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dariusz M. Niedzwiedzki ◽  
David J. K. Swainsbury ◽  
Daniel P. Canniffe ◽  
C. Neil Hunter ◽  
Andrew Hitchcock
Keyword(s):  
Energy Transfer ◽  
Transient Absorption ◽  
Light Harvesting ◽  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Fluorescence Emission ◽  
Energy Transfer Efficiency ◽  
Transfer Efficiency ◽  
Light Harvesting Complexes ◽  
Antenna Complex ◽  
Pigment Protein Complexes

Carotenoids play a number of important roles in photosynthesis, primarily providing light-harvesting and photoprotective energy dissipation functions within pigment–protein complexes. The carbon–carbon double bond (C=C) conjugation length of carotenoids (N), generally between 9 and 15, determines the carotenoid-to-(bacterio)chlorophyll [(B)Chl] energy transfer efficiency. Here we purified and spectroscopically characterized light-harvesting complex 2 (LH2) fromRhodobacter sphaeroidescontaining theN= 7 carotenoid zeta (ζ)-carotene, not previously incorporated within a natural antenna complex. Transient absorption and time-resolved fluorescence show that, relative to the lifetime of the S1state of ζ-carotene in solvent, the lifetime decreases ∼250-fold when ζ-carotene is incorporated within LH2, due to transfer of excitation energy to the B800 and B850 BChlsa. These measurements show that energy transfer proceeds with an efficiency of ∼100%, primarily via the S1→ Qxroute because the S1→ S0fluorescence emission of ζ-carotene overlaps almost perfectly with the Qxabsorption band of the BChls. However, transient absorption measurements performed on microsecond timescales reveal that, unlike the nativeN≥ 9 carotenoids normally utilized in light-harvesting complexes, ζ-carotene does not quench excited triplet states of BChla, likely due to elevation of the ζ-carotene triplet energy state above that of BChla. These findings provide insights into the coevolution of photosynthetic pigments and pigment–protein complexes. We propose that theN≥ 9 carotenoids found in light-harvesting antenna complexes represent a vital compromise that retains an acceptable level of energy transfer from carotenoids to (B)Chls while allowing acquisition of a new, essential function, namely, photoprotective quenching of harmful (B)Chl triplets.

Femtosecond Transient Absorption Studies of Energy Transfer within Chromophore-Labeled Dendrimers

2001 ◽  
Vol 105 (7) ◽  
pp. 1307-1312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederik V. R. Neuwahl ◽  
Roberto Righini ◽  
Alex Adronov ◽  
Patrick R. L. Malenfant ◽  
Jean M. J. Fréchet
Keyword(s):  
Energy Transfer ◽  
Transient Absorption ◽  
Femtosecond Transient Absorption ◽  
Absorption Studies
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