Bacterial reaction centers purified with styrene maleic acid copolymer retain native membrane functional properties and display enhanced stability

Integral membrane proteins often present daunting challenges for biophysical characterization, a fundamental issue being how to select a surfactant that will optimally preserve the individual structure and functional properties of a given membrane protein. Bacterial reaction centers offer a rare opportunity to compare the properties of an integral membrane protein in different artificial lipid/surfactant environments with those in the native bilayer. Here, we demonstrate that reaction centers purified using a styrene maleic acid copolymer remain associated with a complement of native lipids and do not display the modified functional properties that typically result from detergent solubilization. Direct comparisons show that reaction centers are more stable in this copolymer/lipid environment than in a detergent micelle or even in the native membrane, suggesting a promising new route to exploitation of such photovoltaic integral membrane proteins in device applications.

Quantum Coherence in Photosynthesis for Efficient Solar Energy Conversion

The crucial step in the conversion of solar to chemical energy in Photosynthesis takes place in the reaction center where the absorbed excitation energy is converted into a stable charge separated state by ultrafast electron transfer events. However, the fundamental mechanism responsible for the near unity quantum efficiency of this process is unknown. Here we elucidate the role of coherence in determining the efficiency of charge separation in the plant photosystem II reaction centre (PSII RC) by comprehensively combining experiment (two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy) and theory (Redfield theory). We reveal the presence of electronic coherence between excitons as well as between exciton and charge transfer states which we argue to be maintained by vibrational modes. Furthermore, we present evidence for the strong correlation between the degree of electronic coherence and efficient and ultrafast charge separation. We propose that this coherent mechanism will inspire the development of new energy technologies.

Excitation dynamics in Photosystem I from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Comparative studies of isolated complexes and whole cells

Identical time-resolved fluorescence measurements with ~3.5-ps resolution were performed for three types of PSI preparations from the green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: isolated PSI cores, isolated PSI-LHCI complexes and PSI-LHCI complexes in whole living cells. Fluorescence decay in these types of PSI preparations has been previously investigated but never under the same experimental conditions. As a result we present consistent picture of excitation dynamics in algal PSI. Temporal evolution of fluorescence spectra can be generally described by three decay components with similar lifetimes in all samples (6-8ps, 25-30ps, 166-314ps). In the PSI cores, the fluorescence decay is dominated by the two fastest components (~90%), which can be assigned to excitation energy trapping in the reaction center by reversible primary charge separation. Excitation dynamics in the PSI-LHCI preparations is more complex because of the energy transfer between the LHCI antenna system and the core. The average trapping time of excitations created in the well coupled LHCI antenna system is about 12-15ps longer than excitations formed in the PSI core antenna. Excitation dynamics in PSI-LHCI complexes in whole living cells is very similar to that observed in isolated complexes. Our data support the view that chlorophylls responsible for the long-wavelength emission are located mostly in LHCI. We also compared in detail our results with the literature data obtained for plant PSI.

Special issue of photosynthetic research

This Special Issue of Photosynthesis Research honors Louis M. N. Duysens, Roderick K. Clayton, and George Feher, three pioneering researchers whose work on bacterial photosynthesis laid much of the groundwork for our understanding of the role of the reaction center in photosynthetic light energy conversion. Their key discoveries are briefly summarized and an overview of the special issue is presented.

The specificity of controlled protein disorder in the photoprotection of plants

Light-harvesting pigment-protein complexes of photosystem II of plants have a dual function: they efficiently use absorbed energy for photosynthesis at limiting sunlight intensity and dissipate the excess energy at saturating intensity for photoprotection. Recent single-molecule spectroscopy studies on the trimeric LHCII complex showed that environmental control of the intrinsic protein disorder could in principle explain the switch between their light-harvesting and photoprotective conformations in vivo. However, the validity of this proposal depends strongly on the specificity of the protein dynamics. Here, a similar study has been performed on the minor monomeric antenna complexes of photosystem II (CP29, CP26, and CP24). Despite their high structural homology, similar pigment content and organization compared to LHCII trimers, the environmental response of these proteins was found to be rather distinct. A much larger proportion of the minor antenna complexes were present in permanently weakly fluorescent states under most conditions used; however, unlike LHCII trimers the distribution of the single-molecule population between the strongly and weakly fluorescent states showed no significant sensitivity to low pH, zeaxanthin, or low detergent conditions. The results support a unique role for LHCII trimers in the regulation of light harvesting by controlled fluorescence blinking and suggest that any contribution of the minor antenna complexes to photoprotection would probably involve a distinct mechanism.

Probing the carotenoid content of intact Cyclotella cells by resonance Raman spectroscopy

In this study, we demonstrate the selective in vivo detection of diadinoxanthin (DD) and diatoxanthin (DT) in intact Cyclotella cells using resonance Raman spectroscopy. In these cells, we were able to assess both the content of DD and DT carotenoids relative to chlorophyll and their conformation. In addition, the sensitivity and selectivity of the technique allow us to discriminate between different pools of DD on a structural basis, and to follow their fate as a function of the illumination conditions. We report that the additional DD observed when cells are grown in high-light conditions adopts a more twisted conformation than the lower levels of DD present when the cells are grown in low-light (LL) conditions. Thus, we conclude that this pool of DD is more tightly bound to a protein-binding site, which must differ from the one occupied by the DD present in LL conditions.

Exploring the mechanism(s) of energy dissipation in the light harvesting complex of the photosynthetic algae Cyclotella meneghiniana

Photosynthetic organisms have developed vital strategies which allow them to switch from a light-harvesting to an energy dissipative state at the level of the antenna system in order to survive the detrimental effects of excess light illumination. These mechanisms are particularly relevant in diatoms, which grow in highly fluctuating light environments and thus require fast and strong response to changing light conditions. We performed transient absorption spectroscopy on FCPa, the main light-harvesting antenna from the diatom Cyclotella meneghiniana, in the unquenched and quenched state. Our results show that in quenched FCPa two quenching channels are active and are characterized by differing rate constants and distinct spectroscopic signatures. One channel is associated with a faster quenching rate (16ns⁻¹) and virtually no difference in spectral shape compared to the bulk unquenched chlorophylls, while a second channel is associated with a slower quenching rate (2.7ns⁻¹) and exhibits an increased population of red-emitting states. We discuss the origin of the two processes in the context of the models proposed for the regulation of photosynthetic light-harvesting. This article is part of a special issue entitled: photosynthesis research for sustainability: keys to produce clean energy.

Stark fluorescence spectroscopy reveals two emitting sites in the dissipative state of FCP antennas

Diatoms are characterized by very efficient photoprotective mechanisms where the excess energy is dissipated as heat in the main antenna system constituted by fucoxanthin-chlorophyll (Chl) protein complexes (FCPs). We performed Stark fluorescence spectroscopy on FCPs in their light-harvesting and energy dissipating states. Our results show that two distinct emitting bands are created upon induction of energy dissipation in FCPa and possibly in FCPb. More specifically one band is characterized by broad red shifted emission above 700nm and bears strong similarity with a red shifted band that we detected in the dissipative state of the major light-harvesting complex II (LHCII) of plants [26]. We discuss the results in the light of different mechanisms proposed to be responsible for photosynthetic photoprotection.

Functional compartmental modeling of the photosystems in the thylakoid membrane at 77 K

Time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy measurements at 77 K on thylakoid membrane preparations and isolated photosynthetic complexes thereof were investigated using target analysis with the aim of building functional compartmental models for the photosystems in the thylakoid membrane. Combining kinetic schemes with different spectral constraints enabled us to resolve the energy transfer pathways and decay characteristics of the different emissive species. We determined the spectral and energetic properties of the red Chl pools in both photosystems and quantified the formation of LHCII-LHCI-PSI supercomplexes in the transition from native to unstacked thylakoid membranes.

Excitation energy trapping and dissipation by Ni-substituted bacteriochlorophyll a in reconstituted LH1 complexes from Rhodospirillum rubrum

Bacteriochlorophyll a with Ni(2+) replacing the central Mg(2+) ion was used as an ultrafast excitation energy dissipation center in reconstituted bacterial LH1 complexes. B870, a carotenoid-less LH1 complex, and B880, an LH1 complex containing spheroidene, were obtained via reconstitution from the subunits isolated from chromatophores of Rhodospirillum rubrum . Ni-substituted bacteriochlorophyll a added to the reconstitution mixture partially substituted the native pigment in both forms of LH1. The excited-state dynamics of the reconstituted LH1 complexes were probed by femtosecond pump-probe transient absorption spectroscopy in the visible and near-infrared spectral region. Spheroidene-binding B880 containing no excitation dissipation centers displayed complex dynamics in the time range of 0.1-10 ps, reflecting internal conversion and intersystem crossing in the carotenoid, exciton relaxation in BChl complement, and energy transfer from carotenoid to the latter. In B870, some aggregation-induced excitation energy quenching was present. The binding of Ni-BChl a to both B870 and B880 resulted in strong quenching of the excited states with main deexcitation lifetime of ca. 2 ps. The LH1 excited-state lifetime could be modeled with an intrinsic decay time constant in Ni-substituted bacteriochlorophyll a of 160 fs. The presence of carotenoid in LH1 did not influence the kinetics of energy trapping by Ni-BChl unless the carotenoid was directly excited, in which case the kinetics was limited by a slower carotenoid S1 to bacteriochlorophyll energy transfer.

Separating annihilation and excitation energy transfer dynamics in light harvesting systems

The dependence of excitation energy transfer kinetics on the electronic state of the acceptor (ground vs excited) has been resolved with a novel multipulse prePump-Pump-Probe spectroscopy. The primary energy transfer and annihilation dynamics in two model light-harvesting systems were explored: an artificially synthesized carotenoid-zinc-phthalocyanine dyad and a naturally occurring light-harvesting peridinin-chlorophyll protein complex from Amphidinium carterae. Both systems use carotenoid as the primary excitation energy donor with porphyrin chromophores as the acceptor molecules. The prePump-Pump-Probe transient signals were analyzed with Monte Carlo modeling to explicitly address the underlying step-by-step kinetics involved in both excitation migration and annihilation processes. Both energy transfer and annihilation dynamics were demonstrated to occur with approximately the same rate in both systems, regardless of the excitation status of the acceptor pigments. The possible reasons for these observations are discussed in the framework of the Förster energy transfer model.