1
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Leonardo C, Yang SJ, Orcutt K, Iwai M, Arsenault EA, Fleming GR. Bidirectional Energy Flow in the Photosystem II Supercomplex. J Phys Chem B 2024. [PMID: 39140159 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.4c02508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/15/2024]
Abstract
The water-splitting capability of Photosystem II (PSII) of plants and green algae requires the system to balance efficient light harvesting along with effective photoprotection against excitation in excess of the photosynthetic capacity, particularly under the naturally fluctuating sunlight intensity. The comparatively flat energy landscape of the multicomponent structure, inferred from the spectra of the individual pigment-protein complexes and the rather narrow and featureless absorption spectrum, is well known. However, how the combination of the required functions emerges from the interactions among the multiple components of the PSII supercomplex (PSII-SC) cannot be inferred from the individual pigment-protein complexes. In this work, we investigate the energy transfer dynamics of the C2S2-type PSII-SC with a combined spectroscopic and modeling approach. Specifically, two-dimensional electronic-vibrational (2DEV) spectroscopy provides enhanced spectral resolution and the ability to map energy evolution in real space, while the quantum dynamical simulation allows complete kinetic modeling of the 210 chromophores. We demonstrate that additional pathways emerge within the supercomplex. In particular, we show that excitation energy can leave the vicinity of the charge separation components, the reaction center (RC), faster than it can transfer to it. This enables activatable quenching centers in the periphery of the PSII-SC to be effective in removing excessive energy in cases of overexcitation. Overall, we provide a quantitative description of how the seemingly contradictory functions of PSII-SC arise from the combination of its individual components. This provides a fundamental understanding that will allow further improvement of artificial solar energy devices and bioengineering processes for increasing crop yield.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Leonardo
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Shiun-Jr Yang
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Berekeley, California 94720, United States
- Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Kaydren Orcutt
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Berekeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Masakazu Iwai
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berekeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Eric A Arsenault
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Berekeley, California 94720, United States
- Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Graham R Fleming
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Berekeley, California 94720, United States
- Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
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2
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Zhong K, Nguyen HL, Do TN, Tan HS, Knoester J, Jansen TLC. Coarse-Grained Approach to Simulate Signatures of Excitation Energy Transfer in Two-Dimensional Electronic Spectroscopy of Large Molecular Systems. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:6111-6124. [PMID: 38996082 PMCID: PMC11270824 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2024] [Revised: 06/25/2024] [Accepted: 06/27/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024]
Abstract
Two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2DES) has proven to be a highly effective technique in studying the properties of excited states and the process of excitation energy transfer in complex molecular assemblies, particularly in biological light-harvesting systems. However, the accurate simulation of 2DES for large systems still poses a challenge because of the heavy computational demands it entails. In an effort to overcome this limitation, we devised a coarse-grained 2DES method. This method encompasses the treatment of the entire system by dividing it into distinct weakly coupled segments, which are assumed to communicate predominantly through incoherent exciton transfer. We first demonstrate the efficiency of this method through simulation on a model dimer system, which demonstrates a marked improvement in calculation efficiency, with results that exhibit good concordance with reference spectra calculated with less approximate methods. Additionally, the application of this method to the light-harvesting antenna 2 (LH2) complex of purple bacteria showcases its advantages, accuracy, and limitations. Furthermore, simulating the anisotropy decay in LH2 induced by energy transfer and its comparison with experiments confirm that the method is capable of accurately describing dynamical processes in a biologically relevant system. This method presented lends itself to an extension that accounts for the effect of intrasegment relaxation processes on the 2DES spectra, which for computational efficiency are ignored in the implementation reported here. It is envisioned that the method will be employed in the future to accurately and efficiently calculate 2D spectra of more extensive systems, such as photosynthetic supercomplexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Zhong
- Zernike
Institute for Advanced Materials, University
of Groningen, Nijenborgh 3, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
- School
of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, 637371 Singapore
| | - Hoang Long Nguyen
- Zernike
Institute for Advanced Materials, University
of Groningen, Nijenborgh 3, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
- School
of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, 637371 Singapore
| | - Thanh Nhut Do
- School
of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, 637371 Singapore
| | - Howe-Siang Tan
- School
of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, 637371 Singapore
| | - Jasper Knoester
- Zernike
Institute for Advanced Materials, University
of Groningen, Nijenborgh 3, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
- Faculty
of Science, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Thomas L. C. Jansen
- Zernike
Institute for Advanced Materials, University
of Groningen, Nijenborgh 3, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
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3
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Akhtar P, Feng Y, Jana S, Wang W, Shen JR, Tan HS, Lambrev PH. Ultrafast Energy Transfer in a Diatom Photosystem II Supercomplex. J Phys Chem Lett 2024; 15:5838-5847. [PMID: 38788163 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c01029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
The light-harvesting complexes (LHCs) of diatoms, specifically fucoxanthin-Chl a/c binding proteins (FCPs), exhibit structural and functional diversity, as highlighted by recent structural studies of photosystem II-FCP (PSII-FCPII) supercomplexes from different diatom species. The excitation dynamics of PSII-FCPII supercomplexes isolated from the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana was explored using time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy and two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy at room temperature and 77 K. Energy transfer between FCPII and PSII occurred remarkably fast (<5 ps), emphasizing the efficiency of FCPII as a light-harvesting antenna. The presence of long-wavelength chlorophylls may further help concentrate excitations in the core complex and increase the efficiency of light harvesting. Structure-based calculations reveal remarkably strong excitonic couplings between chlorophylls in the FCP antenna and between FCP and the PSII core antenna that are the basis for the rapid energy transfer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parveen Akhtar
- HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged, Temesvári körút 62, Szeged 6726, Hungary
| | - Yue Feng
- Photosynthesis Research Center, Key Laboratory of Photobiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, People's Republic of China
| | - Sanjib Jana
- School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637371, Singapore
| | - Wenda Wang
- Photosynthesis Research Center, Key Laboratory of Photobiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, People's Republic of China
| | - Jian-Ren Shen
- Photosynthesis Research Center, Key Laboratory of Photobiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, People's Republic of China
- Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Science, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530, Japan
| | - Howe-Siang Tan
- School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637371, Singapore
| | - Petar H Lambrev
- HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged, Temesvári körút 62, Szeged 6726, Hungary
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4
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Sarngadharan P, Holtkamp Y, Kleinekathöfer U. Protein Effects on the Excitation Energies and Exciton Dynamics of the CP24 Antenna Complex. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:5201-5217. [PMID: 38756003 PMCID: PMC11145653 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.4c01637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2024] [Revised: 04/29/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
In this study, the site energy fluctuations, energy transfer dynamics, and some spectroscopic properties of the minor light-harvesting complex CP24 in a membrane environment were determined. For this purpose, a 3 μs-long classical molecular dynamics simulation was performed for the CP24 complex. Furthermore, using the density functional tight binding/molecular mechanics molecular dynamics (DFTB/MM MD) approach, we performed excited state calculations for the chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b molecules in the complex starting from five different positions of the MD trajectory. During the extended simulations, we observed variations in the site energies of the different sets as a result of the fluctuating protein environment. In particular, a water coordination to Chl-b 608 occurred only after about 1 μs in the simulations, demonstrating dynamic changes in the environment of this pigment. From the classical and the DFTB/MM MD simulations, spectral densities and the (time-dependent) Hamiltonian of the complex were determined. Based on these results, three independent strongly coupled chlorophyll clusters were revealed within the complex. In addition, absorption and fluorescence spectra were determined together with the exciton relaxation dynamics, which reasonably well agrees with experimental time scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pooja Sarngadharan
- School of Science, Constructor
University, Campus Ring
1, 28759 Bremen, Germany
| | - Yannick Holtkamp
- School of Science, Constructor
University, Campus Ring
1, 28759 Bremen, Germany
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5
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Bhattacharjee S, Arra S, Daidone I, Pantazis DA. Excitation landscape of the CP43 photosynthetic antenna complex from multiscale simulations. Chem Sci 2024; 15:7269-7284. [PMID: 38756808 PMCID: PMC11095388 DOI: 10.1039/d3sc06714a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Photosystem II (PSII), the principal enzyme of oxygenic photosynthesis, contains two integral light harvesting proteins (CP43 and CP47) that bind chlorophylls and carotenoids. The two intrinsic antennae play crucial roles in excitation energy transfer and photoprotection. CP43 interacts most closely with the reaction center of PSII, specifically with the branch of the reaction center (D1) that is responsible for primary charge separation and electron transfer. Deciphering the function of CP43 requires detailed atomic-level insights into the properties of the embedded pigments. To advance this goal, we employ a range of multiscale computational approaches to determine the site energies and excitonic profile of CP43 chlorophylls, using large all-atom models of a membrane-bound PSII monomer. In addition to time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) used in the context of a quantum-mechanics/molecular-mechanics setup (QM/MM), we present a thorough analysis using the perturbed matrix method (PMM), which enables us to utilize information from long-timescale molecular dynamics simulations of native PSII-complexed CP43. The excited state energetics and excitonic couplings have both similarities and differences compared with previous experimental fits and theoretical calculations. Both static TD-DFT and dynamic PMM results indicate a layered distribution of site energies and reveal specific groups of chlorophylls that have shared contributions to low-energy excitations. Importantly, the contribution to the lowest energy exciton does not arise from the same chlorophylls at each system configuration, but rather changes as a function of conformational dynamics. An unexpected finding is the identification of a low-energy charge-transfer excited state within CP43 that involves a lumenal (C2) and the central (C10) chlorophyll of the complex. The results provide a refined basis for structure-based interpretation of spectroscopic observations and for further deciphering excitation energy transfer in oxygenic photosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sinjini Bhattacharjee
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz 1 45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr Germany
| | - Srilatha Arra
- Department of Physical and Chemical Sciences, University of L'Aquila Via Vetoio (Coppito 1) 67010 L'Aquila Italy
| | - Isabella Daidone
- Department of Physical and Chemical Sciences, University of L'Aquila Via Vetoio (Coppito 1) 67010 L'Aquila Italy
| | - Dimitrios A Pantazis
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz 1 45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr Germany
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6
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Nguyen HL, Do TN, Zhong K, Akhtar P, Jansen TLC, Knoester J, Caffarri S, Lambrev P, Tan HS. Inter-subunit energy transfer processes in a minimal plant photosystem II supercomplex. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadh0911. [PMID: 38394196 PMCID: PMC10889429 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adh0911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
Photosystem II (PSII) is an integral part of the photosynthesis machinery, in which several light-harvesting complexes rely on inter-complex excitonic energy transfer (EET) processes to channel energy to the reaction center. In this paper, we report on a direct observation of the inter-complex EET in a minimal PSII supercomplex from plants, containing the trimeric light-harvesting complex II (LHCII), the monomeric light-harvesting complex CP26, and the monomeric PSII core complex. Using two-dimensional (2D) electronic spectroscopy, we measure an inter-complex EET timescale of 50 picoseconds for excitations from the LHCII-CP26 peripheral antenna to the PSII core. The 2D electronic spectra also reveal that the transfer timescale is nearly constant over the pump spectrum of 600 to 700 nanometers. Structure-based calculations reveal the contribution of each antenna complex to the measured inter-complex EET time. These results provide a step in elucidating the full inter-complex energy transfer network of the PSII machinery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hoang Long Nguyen
- School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637371
- Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Thanh Nhut Do
- School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637371
| | - Kai Zhong
- School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637371
- Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Parveen Akhtar
- ELI-ALPS, ELI-HU Nonprofit Limited, Wolfgang Sandner utca 3, Szeged 6728, Hungary
- HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged, Temesvári körút 62, Szeged 6726, Hungary
| | - Thomas L. C. Jansen
- Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Jasper Knoester
- Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, Netherlands
- Faculty of Science, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, NL-2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Stefano Caffarri
- Aix Marseille Université, CEA, CNRS, BIAM, LGBP, 13009 Marseille, France
| | - Petar Lambrev
- HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged, Temesvári körút 62, Szeged 6726, Hungary
| | - Howe-Siang Tan
- School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637371
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7
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Gustin I, Kim CW, McCamant DW, Franco I. Mapping electronic decoherence pathways in molecules. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2309987120. [PMID: 38015846 PMCID: PMC10710033 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2309987120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Establishing the fundamental chemical principles that govern molecular electronic quantum decoherence has remained an outstanding challenge. Fundamental questions such as how solvent and intramolecular vibrations or chemical functionalization contribute to the decoherence remain unanswered and are beyond the reach of state-of-the-art theoretical and experimental approaches. Here we address this challenge by developing a strategy to isolate electronic decoherence pathways for molecular chromophores immersed in condensed phase environments that enables elucidating how electronic quantum coherence is lost. For this, we first identify resonance Raman spectroscopy as a general experimental method to reconstruct molecular spectral densities with full chemical complexity at room temperature, in solvent, and for fluorescent and non-fluorescent molecules. We then show how to quantitatively capture the decoherence dynamics from the spectral density and identify decoherence pathways by decomposing the overall coherence loss into contributions due to individual molecular vibrations and solvent modes. We illustrate the utility of the strategy by analyzing the electronic decoherence pathways of the DNA base thymine in water. Its electronic coherences decay in [Formula: see text]30 fs. The early-time decoherence is determined by intramolecular vibrations while the overall decay by solvent. Chemical substitution of thymine modulates the decoherence with hydrogen-bond interactions of the thymine ring with water leading to the fastest decoherence. Increasing temperature leads to faster decoherence as it enhances the importance of solvent contributions but leaves the early-time decoherence dynamics intact. The developed strategy opens key opportunities to establish the connection between molecular structure and quantum decoherence as needed to develop chemical strategies to rationally modulate it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignacio Gustin
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY14627
| | - Chang Woo Kim
- Department of Chemistry, Chonnam National University, Gwangju61186, South Korea
| | - David W. McCamant
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY14627
| | - Ignacio Franco
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY14627
- Department of Physics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY14627
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8
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Cook RL, Ko L, Whaley KB. A quantum trajectory picture of single photon absorption and energy transport in photosystem II. J Chem Phys 2023; 159:134108. [PMID: 37795784 DOI: 10.1063/5.0168631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023] Open
Abstract
We use quantum trajectory theory to study the dynamics of the first step in photosynthesis for a single photon interacting with photosystem II (PSII). By considering individual trajectories we are able to look beyond the ensemble average dynamics to compute the PSII system evolution conditioned upon individual photon counting measurements. Measurements of the transmitted photon beam strongly affects the system state, since detection of an outgoing photon confirms that the PSII must be in the electronic ground state, while a null measurement implies it is in an excited electronic state. We show that under ideal conditions, observing the null result transforms a state with a low excited state population to a state with nearly all population contained in the excited states. We study the PSII dynamics conditioned on such photon counting for both a pure excitonic model of PSII and a more realistic model with exciton-phonon coupling to a dissipative phononic environment. In the absence of such coupling, we show that the measured fluorescence rates show oscillations constituting a photon-counting witness of excitonic coherence. Excitonic coupling to the phonon environment has a strong effect on the observed rates of fluorescence, damping the oscillations. Addition of non-radiative decay and incoherent transitions to radical pair states in the reaction center to the phononic model allows extraction of a quantum efficiency of 92.5% from the long-time evolution, consistent with bulk experimental measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert L Cook
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Liwen Ko
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - K Birgitta Whaley
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
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9
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Regeni I, Chowdhury R, Terlinden K, Horiuchi S, Holstein JJ, Feldmann S, Clever GH. Engineering Soluble Diketopyrrolopyrrole Chromophore Stacks from a Series of Pd(II)-Based Ravels. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2023; 62:e202308288. [PMID: 37459561 PMCID: PMC10952814 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202308288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023]
Abstract
A strategy to engineer the stacking of diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) dyes based on non-statistical metallosupramolecular self-assembly is introduced. For this, the DPP backbone is equipped with nitrogen-based donors that allow for different discrete assemblies to be formed upon the addition of Pd(II), distinguished by the number of π-stacked chromophores. A Pd3 L6 three-ring, a heteroleptic Pd2 L2 L'2 ravel composed of two crossing DPPs (flanked by two carbazoles), and two unprecedented self-penetrated motifs (a Pd2 L3 triple and a Pd2 L4 quadruple stack), were obtained and systematically investigated. With increasing counts of stacked chromophores, UV/Vis absorptions red-shift and emission intensities decrease, except for compound Pd2 L2 L'2 , which stands out with an exceptional photoluminescence quantum yield of 51 %. This is extraordinary for open-shell metal containing assemblies and explainable by an intra-assembly FRET process. The modular design and synthesis of soluble multi-chromophore building blocks offers the potential for the preparation of nanodevices and materials with applications in sensing, photo-redox catalysis and optics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Regeni
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical BiologyTU Dortmund UniversityOtto-Hahn-Strasse 644227DortmundGermany
- Current address: Leiden Institute of ChemistryLeiden University2333CCLeidenThe Netherlands
| | | | - Kai Terlinden
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical BiologyTU Dortmund UniversityOtto-Hahn-Strasse 644227DortmundGermany
| | - Shinnosuke Horiuchi
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical BiologyTU Dortmund UniversityOtto-Hahn-Strasse 644227DortmundGermany
- Current address: Department of Basic Science, Graduate School of Arts and SciencesThe University of Tokyo3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-kuTokyoJapan
| | - Julian J. Holstein
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical BiologyTU Dortmund UniversityOtto-Hahn-Strasse 644227DortmundGermany
| | - Sascha Feldmann
- Cavendish LaboratoryUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeCB30HEUK
- Current address: Rowland InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02142USA
| | - Guido H. Clever
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical BiologyTU Dortmund UniversityOtto-Hahn-Strasse 644227DortmundGermany
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10
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Novoderezhkin VI, Croce R. The location of the low-energy states in Lhca1 favors excitation energy transfer to the core in the plant PSI-LHCI supercomplex. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2023; 156:59-74. [PMID: 36374368 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-022-00979-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Lhca1 is one of the four pigment-protein complexes composing the outer antenna of plant Photosystem I-light-havesting I supercomplex (PSI-LHCI). It forms a functional dimer with Lhca4 but, differently from this complex, it does not contain 'red-forms,' i.e., pigments absorbing above 700 nm. Interestingly, the recent PSI-LHCI structures suggest that Lhca1 is the main point of delivering the energy harvested by the antenna to the core. To identify the excitation energy pathways in Lhca1, we developed a structure-based exciton model based on the simultaneous fit of the low-temperature absorption, linear dichroism, and fluorescence spectra of wild-type Lhca1 and two mutants, lacking chlorophylls contributing to the long-wavelength region of the absorption. The model enables us to define the locations of the lowest energy pigments in Lhca1 and estimate pathways and timescales of energy transfer within the complex and to the PSI core. We found that Lhca1 has a particular energy landscape with an unusual (compared to Lhca4, LHCII, and CP29) configuration of the low-energy states. Remarkably, these states are located near the core, facilitating direct energy transfer to it. Moreover, the low-energy states of Lhca1 are also coupled to the red-most state (red forms) of the neighboring Lhca4 antenna, providing a pathway for effective excitation energy transfer from Lhca4 to the core.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir I Novoderezhkin
- A. N. Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory, 119992, Moscow, Russia.
| | - Roberta Croce
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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11
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From antenna to reaction center: Pathways of ultrafast energy and charge transfer in photosystem II. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2208033119. [PMID: 36215463 PMCID: PMC9586314 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2208033119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The photosystem II core complex (PSII-CC) is a photosynthetic complex that contains antenna proteins, which collect energy from sunlight, and a reaction center, which converts the collected energy to redox potential. Understanding the interplay between the antenna proteins and the reaction center will facilitate the development of more efficient solar energy conversion technologies. Here, we study the sub-100-ps dynamics of PSII-CC with two-dimensional electronic-vibrational spectroscopy, which connects energy flows with physical space, allowing a direct mapping of energy transfer pathways. Our results reveal a complex dynamical scheme which includes a specific pathway that connects CP43 to the reaction center. Resolving this pathway experimentally provides insights into the energy conversion processes in natural photosynthesis. The photosystem II core complex (PSII-CC) is the smallest subunit of the oxygenic photosynthetic apparatus that contains core antennas and a reaction center, which together allow for rapid energy transfer and charge separation, ultimately leading to efficient solar energy conversion. However, there is a lack of consensus on the interplay between the energy transfer and charge separation dynamics of the core complex. Here, we report the application of two-dimensional electronic-vibrational (2DEV) spectroscopy to the spinach PSII-CC at 77 K. The simultaneous temporal and spectral resolution afforded by 2DEV spectroscopy facilitates the separation and direct assignment of coexisting dynamical processes. Our results show that the dominant dynamics of the PSII-CC are distinct in different excitation energy regions. By separating the excitation regions, we are able to distinguish the intraprotein dynamics and interprotein energy transfer. Additionally, with the improved resolution, we are able to identify the key pigments involved in the pathways, allowing for a direct connection between dynamical and structural information. Specifically, we show that C505 in CP43 and the peripheral chlorophyll ChlzD1 in the reaction center are most likely responsible for energy transfer from CP43 to the reaction center.
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12
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Ko L, Cook RL, Whaley KB. Dynamics of photosynthetic light harvesting systems interacting with N-photon Fock states. J Chem Phys 2022; 156:244108. [DOI: 10.1063/5.0082822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
We develop a method to simulate the excitonic dynamics of realistic photosynthetic light harvesting systems, including non-Markovian coupling to phonon degrees of freedom, under excitation by N-photon Fock state pulses. This method combines the input–output and the hierarchical equations of motion formalisms into a double hierarchy of density matrix equations. We show analytically that under weak field excitation relevant to natural photosynthesis conditions, an N-photon Fock state input and a corresponding coherent state input give rise to equal density matrices in the excited manifold. However, an N-photon Fock state input induces no off-diagonal coherence between the ground and excited subspaces, in contrast with the coherences created by a coherent state input. We derive expressions for the probability to absorb a single Fock state photon with or without the influence of phonons. For short pulses (or, equivalently, wide bandwidth pulses), we show that the absorption probability has a universal behavior that depends only upon a system-dependent effective energy spread parameter Δ and an exciton–light coupling constant Γ. This holds for a broad range of chromophore systems and for a variety of pulse shapes. We also analyze the absorption probability in the opposite long pulse (narrow bandwidth) regime. We then derive an expression for the long time emission rate in the presence of phonons and use it to study the difference between collective vs independent emission. Finally, we present a numerical simulation for the LHCII monomer (14-mer) system under single photon excitation that illustrates the use of the double hierarchy equations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liwen Ko
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Robert L. Cook
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - K. Birgitta Whaley
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
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13
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Sarngadharan P, Maity S, Kleinekathöfer U. Spectral densities and absorption spectra of the core antenna complex CP43 from photosystem II. J Chem Phys 2022; 156:215101. [DOI: 10.1063/5.0091005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Besides absorbing light, the core antenna complex CP43 of photosystem II is of great importance in transferring excitation energy from the antenna complexes to the reaction center. Excitation energies, spectral densities, and linear absorption spectra of the complex have been evaluated by a multiscale approach. In this scheme, quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics molecular dynamics simulations are performed employing the parameterized density functional tight binding (DFTB) while the time-dependent long-range-corrected DFTB scheme is applied for the excited state calculations. The obtained average spectral density of the CP43 complex shows a very good agreement with experimental results. Moreover, the excitonic Hamiltonian of the system along with the computed site-dependent spectral densities was used to determine the linear absorption. While a Redfield-like approximation has severe shortcomings in dealing with the CP43 complex due to quasi-degenerate states, the non-Markovian full second-order cumulant expansion formalism is able to overcome the drawbacks. Linear absorption spectra were obtained, which show a good agreement with the experimental counterparts at different temperatures. This study once more emphasizes that by combining diverse techniques from the areas of molecular dynamics simulations, quantum chemistry, and open quantum systems, it is possible to obtain first-principle results for photosynthetic complexes, which are in accord with experimental findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pooja Sarngadharan
- Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 1, 28759 Bremen, Germany
| | - Sayan Maity
- Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 1, 28759 Bremen, Germany
| | - Ulrich Kleinekathöfer
- Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 1, 28759 Bremen, Germany
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14
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Nawrocki WJ, Liu X, Raber B, Hu C, de Vitry C, Bennett DIG, Croce R. Molecular origins of induction and loss of photoinhibition-related energy dissipation q I. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:eabj0055. [PMID: 34936440 PMCID: PMC8694598 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abj0055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Photosynthesis fuels life on Earth using sunlight as energy source. However, light has a simultaneous detrimental effect on the enzyme triggering photosynthesis and producing oxygen, photosystem II (PSII). Photoinhibition, the light-dependent decrease of PSII activity, results in a major limitation to aquatic and land photosynthesis and occurs upon all environmental stress conditions. In this work, we investigated the molecular origins of photoinhibition focusing on the paradoxical energy dissipation process of unknown nature coinciding with PSII damage. Integrating spectroscopic, biochemical, and computational approaches, we demonstrate that the site of this quenching process is the PSII reaction center. We propose that the formation of quenching and the closure of PSII stem from the same event. We lastly reveal the heterogeneity of PSII upon photoinhibition using structure-function modeling of excitation energy transfer. This work unravels the functional details of the damage-induced energy dissipation at the heart of photosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wojciech J. Nawrocki
- Biophysics of Photosynthesis, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, Netherlands
- LaserLaB Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Corresponding author. (W.J.N.); (R.C.)
| | - Xin Liu
- Biophysics of Photosynthesis, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, Netherlands
- LaserLaB Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Bailey Raber
- Department of Chemistry, Southern Methodist University, P.O. Box 750314, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Chen Hu
- Biophysics of Photosynthesis, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, Netherlands
- LaserLaB Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Catherine de Vitry
- Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, UMR 7141, CNRS-Sorbonne Université, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Doran I. G. Bennett
- Department of Chemistry, Southern Methodist University, P.O. Box 750314, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Roberta Croce
- Biophysics of Photosynthesis, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, Netherlands
- LaserLaB Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Corresponding author. (W.J.N.); (R.C.)
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15
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Hancock AM, Son M, Nairat M, Wei T, Jeuken LJC, Duffy CDP, Schlau-Cohen GS, Adams PG. Ultrafast energy transfer between lipid-linked chromophores and plant light-harvesting complex II. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:19511-19524. [PMID: 34524278 PMCID: PMC8442836 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp01628h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Light-Harvesting Complex II (LHCII) is a membrane protein found in plant chloroplasts that has the crucial role of absorbing solar energy and subsequently performing excitation energy transfer to the reaction centre subunits of Photosystem II. LHCII provides strong absorption of blue and red light, however, it has minimal absorption in the green spectral region where solar irradiance is maximal. In a recent proof-of-principle study, we enhanced the absorption in this spectral range by developing a biohybrid system where LHCII proteins together with lipid-linked Texas Red (TR) chromophores were assembled into lipid membrane vesicles. The utility of these systems was limited by significant LHCII quenching due to protein-protein interactions and heterogeneous lipid structures. Here, we organise TR and LHCII into a lipid nanodisc, which provides a homogeneous, well-controlled platform to study the interactions between TR molecules and single LHCII complexes. Fluorescence spectroscopy determined that TR-to-LHCII energy transfer has an efficiency of at least 60%, resulting in a 262% enhancement of LHCII fluorescence in the 525-625 nm range, two-fold greater than in the previous system. Ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy revealed two time constants of 3.7 and 128 ps for TR-to-LHCII energy transfer. Structural modelling and theoretical calculations indicate that these timescales correspond to TR-lipids that are loosely- or tightly-associated with the protein, respectively, with estimated TR-to-LHCII separations of ∼3.5 nm and ∼1 nm. Overall, we demonstrate that a nanodisc-based biohybrid system provides an idealised platform to explore the photophysical interactions between extrinsic chromophores and membrane proteins with potential applications in understanding more complex natural or artificial photosynthetic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley M Hancock
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK. .,Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Minjung Son
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Muath Nairat
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Tiejun Wei
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Lars J C Jeuken
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.,Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.,Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Christopher D P Duffy
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Gabriela S Schlau-Cohen
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Peter G Adams
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK. .,Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
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16
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Maity S, Sarngadharan P, Daskalakis V, Kleinekathöfer U. Time-dependent atomistic simulations of the CP29 light-harvesting complex. J Chem Phys 2021; 155:055103. [PMID: 34364345 DOI: 10.1063/5.0053259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Light harvesting as the first step in photosynthesis is of prime importance for life on earth. For a theoretical description of photochemical processes during light harvesting, spectral densities are key quantities. They serve as input functions for modeling the excitation energy transfer dynamics and spectroscopic properties. Herein, a recently developed procedure is applied to determine the spectral densities of the pigments in the minor antenna complex CP29 of photosystem II, which has recently gained attention because of its active role in non-photochemical quenching processes in higher plants. To this end, the density functional-based tight binding (DFTB) method has been employed to enable simulation of the ground state dynamics in a quantum-mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) scheme for each chlorophyll pigment. Subsequently, the time-dependent extension of the long-range corrected DFTB approach has been used to obtain the excitation energy fluctuations along the ground-state trajectories also in a QM/MM setting. From these results, the spectral densities have been determined and compared for different force fields and to spectral densities from other light-harvesting complexes. In addition, time-dependent and time-independent excitonic Hamiltonians of the system have been constructed and applied to the determination of absorption spectra as well as exciton dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayan Maity
- Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 1, 28759 Bremen, Germany
| | - Pooja Sarngadharan
- Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 1, 28759 Bremen, Germany
| | - Vangelis Daskalakis
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, 30 Archbishop Kyprianou Str. 3603, Limassol, Cyprus
| | - Ulrich Kleinekathöfer
- Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 1, 28759 Bremen, Germany
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17
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Ultrafast spectroscopic investigation of discrete co-assemblies of a Zn-porphyrin–polymer conjugate with a hexapyridyl template. Chem Phys Lett 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cplett.2021.138736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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18
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Maity S, Daskalakis V, Elstner M, Kleinekathöfer U. Multiscale QM/MM molecular dynamics simulations of the trimeric major light-harvesting complex II. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:7407-7417. [PMID: 33876100 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp01011e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Photosynthetic processes are driven by sunlight. Too little of it and the photosynthetic machinery cannot produce the reductive power to drive the anabolic pathways. Too much sunlight and the machinery can get damaged. In higher plants, the major Light-Harvesting Complex (LHCII) efficiently absorbs the light energy, but can also dissipate it when in excess (quenching). In order to study the dynamics related to the quenching process but also the exciton dynamics in general, one needs to accurately determine the so-called spectral density which describes the coupling between the relevant pigment modes and the environmental degrees of freedom. To this end, Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations in a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) fashion utilizing the density functional based tight binding (DFTB) method have been performed for the ground state dynamics. Subsequently, the time-dependent extension of the long-range-corrected DFTB scheme has been employed for the excited state calculations of the individual chlorophyll-a molecules in the LHCII complex. The analysis of this data resulted in spectral densities showing an astonishing agreement with the experimental counterpart in this rather large system. This consistency with an experimental observable also supports the accuracy, robustness, and reliability of the present multi-scale scheme. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first theoretical attempt on this large complex system is ever made to accurately simulate the spectral density. In addition, the resulting spectral densities and site energies were used to determine the exciton transfer rate within a special pigment pair consisting of a chlorophyll-a and a carotenoid molecule which is assumed to play a role in the balance between the light harvesting and quenching modes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayan Maity
- Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 1, 28759 Bremen, Germany.
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19
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Croce R, van Amerongen H. Light harvesting in oxygenic photosynthesis: Structural biology meets spectroscopy. Science 2020; 369:369/6506/eaay2058. [PMID: 32820091 DOI: 10.1126/science.aay2058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 138] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Oxygenic photosynthesis is the main process that drives life on earth. It starts with the harvesting of solar photons that, after transformation into electronic excitations, lead to charge separation in the reaction centers of photosystems I and II (PSI and PSII). These photosystems are large, modular pigment-protein complexes that work in series to fuel the formation of carbohydrates, concomitantly producing molecular oxygen. Recent advances in cryo-electron microscopy have enabled the determination of PSI and PSII structures in complex with light-harvesting components called "supercomplexes" from different organisms at near-atomic resolution. Here, we review the structural and spectroscopic aspects of PSI and PSII from plants and algae that directly relate to their light-harvesting properties, with special attention paid to the pathways and efficiency of excitation energy transfer and the regulatory aspects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Croce
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
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20
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van Amerongen H, Chmeliov J. Instantaneous switching between different modes of non-photochemical quenching in plants. Consequences for increasing biomass production. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS 2020; 1861:148119. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2019.148119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2019] [Revised: 10/29/2019] [Accepted: 11/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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21
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Mascoli V, Novoderezhkin V, Liguori N, Xu P, Croce R. Design principles of solar light harvesting in plants: Functional architecture of the monomeric antenna CP29. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS 2020; 1861:148156. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2020.148156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2019] [Revised: 12/13/2019] [Accepted: 01/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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22
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Müh F, Zouni A. Structural basis of light-harvesting in the photosystem II core complex. Protein Sci 2020; 29:1090-1119. [PMID: 32067287 PMCID: PMC7184784 DOI: 10.1002/pro.3841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2020] [Revised: 02/06/2020] [Accepted: 02/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Photosystem II (PSII) is a membrane-spanning, multi-subunit pigment-protein complex responsible for the oxidation of water and the reduction of plastoquinone in oxygenic photosynthesis. In the present review, the recent explosive increase in available structural information about the PSII core complex based on X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy is described at a level of detail that is suitable for a future structure-based analysis of light-harvesting processes. This description includes a proposal for a consistent numbering scheme of protein-bound pigment cofactors across species. The structural survey is complemented by an overview of the state of affairs in structure-based modeling of excitation energy transfer in the PSII core complex with emphasis on electrostatic computations, optical properties of the reaction center, the assignment of long-wavelength chlorophylls, and energy trapping mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank Müh
- Department of Theoretical Biophysics, Institute for Theoretical Physics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria
| | - Athina Zouni
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute for Biology, Biophysics of Photosynthesis, Berlin, Germany
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23
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Taylor N, Kassal I. Why are photosynthetic reaction centres dimeric? Chem Sci 2019; 10:9576-9585. [PMID: 32055331 PMCID: PMC6993572 DOI: 10.1039/c9sc03712h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2019] [Accepted: 08/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
All photosynthetic organisms convert solar energy into chemical energy through charge separation in dimeric reaction centres. It is unknown why early reaction centres dimerised and completely displaced their monomeric ancestors. Here, we discuss several proposed explanations for reaction-centre dimerism and conclude-with only weak assumptions about the primordial dimerisation event-that the most probable explanation for the dimerism is that it arose because it enhanced light-harvesting efficiency by deepening the excitonic trap, i.e., by enhancing the rate of exciton transfer from an antenna complex and decreasing the rate of back transfer. This effect would have outweighed the negative effect dimerisation would have had on charge transfer within the reaction centre. Our argument implies that dimerisation likely occurred after the evolution of the first antennas, and it explains why the lower-energy state of the special pair is bright.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natasha Taylor
- School of Chemistry and University of Sydney Nano Institute , University of Queensland , QLD 4072 , Australia
| | - Ivan Kassal
- School of Chemistry , University of Sydney Nano Institute , University of Sydney , NSW 2006 , Australia .
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24
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Bennett DIG, Amarnath K, Park S, Steen CJ, Morris JM, Fleming GR. Models and mechanisms of the rapidly reversible regulation of photosynthetic light harvesting. Open Biol 2019; 9:190043. [PMID: 30966997 PMCID: PMC6501642 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.190043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2019] [Accepted: 03/07/2019] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The rapid response of photosynthetic organisms to fluctuations in ambient light intensity is incompletely understood at both the molecular and membrane levels. In this review, we describe research from our group over a 10-year period aimed at identifying the photophysical mechanisms used by plants, algae and mosses to control the efficiency of light harvesting by photosystem II on the seconds-to-minutes time scale. To complement the spectroscopic data, we describe three models capable of describing the measured response at a quantitative level. The review attempts to provide an integrated view that has emerged from our work, and briefly looks forward to future experimental and modelling efforts that will refine and expand our understanding of a process that significantly influences crop yields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Doran I. G. Bennett
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Kapil Amarnath
- Department of Physics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Soomin Park
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Collin J. Steen
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Jonathan M. Morris
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Graham R. Fleming
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
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25
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Yang Y, Ishida M, Yasutake Y, Fukatsu S, Fukakusa C, Morikawa MA, Yamada T, Kimizuka N, Furuta H. Hierarchical Hybrid Metal-Organic Frameworks: Tuning the Visible/Near-Infrared Optical Properties by a Combination of Porphyrin and Its Isomer Units. Inorg Chem 2019; 58:4647-4656. [PMID: 30875205 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.9b00251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Hybrid metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with core/shell-like hierarchical structure comprised of zirconium metal and porphyrin (e.g., TPP) and its isomer, N-confused porphyrin (NCP), were synthesized through a seed-mediated reaction. The hierarchical structures of hybrid MOFs were characterized by the microscopic image analyses (e.g., scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrometry, and confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM)). Taking advantage of the intrinsic light-harvesting properties of the porphyrin dye and the N-confused isomer, changing the core/shell layer structures of hybrid MOFs allows for tuning of the visible-to-near-infrared (NIR) absorption/emission characters, excited-state energy migrations, and photosensitization capabilities. The Förster energy transfer event occurring in the bulk MOF samples by photoexcitation enabled us to control the photoinduced singlet oxygen generation through the comprehensive light-harvesting ability of these hybrid porphyrinic MOFs. Therefore, implementation of a precisely designed porphyrin "substitute" into the MOF-based materials indeed provides a new mimic of the photosynthetic pigment system and should be potentially applicable for solar-light-driven devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yufeng Yang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, and Center for Molecular Systems , Kyushu University , Fukuoka 819-0395 , Japan
| | - Masatoshi Ishida
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, and Center for Molecular Systems , Kyushu University , Fukuoka 819-0395 , Japan
| | - Yuhsuke Yasutake
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences , The University of Tokyo , Tokyo 153-8902 , Japan
| | - Susumu Fukatsu
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences , The University of Tokyo , Tokyo 153-8902 , Japan
| | - Chihoko Fukakusa
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, and Center for Molecular Systems , Kyushu University , Fukuoka 819-0395 , Japan
| | - Masa-Aki Morikawa
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, and Center for Molecular Systems , Kyushu University , Fukuoka 819-0395 , Japan
| | - Teppei Yamada
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, and Center for Molecular Systems , Kyushu University , Fukuoka 819-0395 , Japan
| | - Nobuo Kimizuka
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, and Center for Molecular Systems , Kyushu University , Fukuoka 819-0395 , Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Furuta
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, and Center for Molecular Systems , Kyushu University , Fukuoka 819-0395 , Japan
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26
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Hsieh ST, Zhang L, Ye DW, Huang X, Cheng YC. A theoretical study on the dynamics of light harvesting in the dimeric photosystem II core complex: regulation and robustness of energy transfer pathways. Faraday Discuss 2019; 216:94-115. [PMID: 31016302 DOI: 10.1039/c8fd00205c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Here we present our theoretical investigations into the light reaction in the dimeric photosystem II (PSII) core complex. An effective model for excitation energy transfer (EET) and primary charge separation (CS) in the PSII core complex was developed, with model parameters constructed based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulation data. Compared to experimental results, we demonstrated that this model faithfully reproduces the absorption spectra of the RC and core light-harvesting complexes (CP43 and CP47) as well as the full EET dynamics among the chromophores in the PSII core complex. We then applied master equation simulations and network analysis to investigate detailed EET plus CS dynamics in the system, allowing us to identify key EET pathways and produce a coarse-grained cluster model for the light reaction in the dimeric PSII core complex. We show that non-equilibrium energy transfer channels play important roles in the efficient light harvesting process and that multiple EET pathways exist between subunits of PSII to ensure the robustness of light harvesting in the system. Furthermore, we revealed that inter-monomer energy transfer dominated by the coupling between the two CLA625 molecules enables efficient energy exchange between two CP47s in the dimeric PSII core complex, which leads to significant energy pooling in the CP47 domain during the light reaction. Our study provides a blueprint for the design of light harvesting in the PSII core and show that a structure-based approach using molecular dynamics simulations and quantum chemistry calculations can be effectively utilized to elucidate the dynamics of light harvesting in complex photosynthetic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shou-Ting Hsieh
- Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei City, Taiwan.
| | - Lu Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences Fuzhou, Fujian CN 350002, China
| | - De-Wei Ye
- Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei City, Taiwan.
| | - Xuhui Huang
- Department of Chemistry, Institute for Advance Study and School of Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
| | - Yuan-Chung Cheng
- Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei City, Taiwan.
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27
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Energy-dependent quenching adjusts the excitation diffusion length to regulate photosynthetic light harvesting. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:E9523-E9531. [PMID: 30237283 PMCID: PMC6187178 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1806597115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Plants’ photosynthetic mechanism adjusts to fluctuations in light intensity. Intermittent bright sunlight can damage light-harvesting proteins; to preempt this, plants dissipate excess absorbed excitation energy as heat. Energy-dependent quenching (qE) of excitations occurs on the seconds to minutes timescale through conformational changes in antenna proteins. Using a multiscale model of photosystem II, we show that changes in light harvesting due to qE can be explained using a single parameter, the excitation diffusion length, which decreases as qE activates. These findings have implications for the interpretation of pulse amplitude-modulated fluorescence, a common noninvasive measurement of photosynthetic activity in leaves. An important determinant of crop yields is the regulation of photosystem II (PSII) light harvesting by energy-dependent quenching (qE). However, the molecular details of excitation quenching have not been quantitatively connected to the fraction of excitations converted to chemical energy by PSII reaction centers (PSII yield), which determines flux to downstream metabolism. Here, we incorporate excitation dissipation by qE into a pigment-scale model of excitation transfer and trapping for a 200 × 200-nm patch of the grana membrane. We show that excitation transport can be rigorously coarse grained to a 2D random walk with an excitation diffusion length determined by the extent of quenching. We present an alternative method for analyzing pulse amplitude-modulated chlorophyll fluorescence measurements that incorporates the effects of a variable excitation diffusion length during qE activation.
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28
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Ke Y, Zhao Y. Calculations of coherent two-dimensional electronic spectra using forward and backward stochastic wavefunctions. J Chem Phys 2018; 149:014104. [DOI: 10.1063/1.5037684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Yaling Ke
- State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, and Department of Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yi Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, and Department of Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, People’s Republic of China
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29
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Fox KF, Ünlü C, Balevičius V, Ramdour BN, Kern C, Pan X, Li M, van Amerongen H, Duffy CD. A possible molecular basis for photoprotection in the minor antenna proteins of plants. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS 2018; 1859:471-481. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2018.03.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2018] [Revised: 03/19/2018] [Accepted: 03/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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Blau SM, Bennett DIG, Kreisbeck C, Scholes GD, Aspuru-Guzik A. Local protein solvation drives direct down-conversion in phycobiliprotein PC645 via incoherent vibronic transport. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:E3342-E3350. [PMID: 29588417 PMCID: PMC5899487 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1800370115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The mechanisms controlling excitation energy transport (EET) in light-harvesting complexes remain controversial. Following the observation of long-lived beats in 2D electronic spectroscopy of PC645, vibronic coherence, the delocalization of excited states between pigments supported by a resonant vibration, has been proposed to enable direct excitation transport from the highest-energy to the lowest-energy pigments, bypassing a collection of intermediate states. Here, we instead show that for phycobiliprotein PC645 an incoherent vibronic transport mechanism is at play. We quantify the solvation dynamics of individual pigments using ab initio quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) nuclear dynamics. Our atomistic spectral densities reproduce experimental observations ranging from absorption and fluorescence spectra to the timescales and selectivity of down-conversion observed in transient absorption measurements. We construct a general model for vibronic dimers and establish the parameter regimes of coherent and incoherent vibronic transport. We demonstrate that direct down-conversion in PC645 proceeds incoherently, enhanced by large reorganization energies and a broad collection of high-frequency vibrations. We suggest that a similar incoherent mechanism is appropriate across phycobiliproteins and represents a potential design principle for nanoscale control of EET.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel M Blau
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Doran I G Bennett
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
- Bio-Inspired Solar Energy Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, ON M5G 1Z8, Canada
| | - Christoph Kreisbeck
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Gregory D Scholes
- Bio-Inspired Solar Energy Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, ON M5G 1Z8, Canada
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
| | - Alán Aspuru-Guzik
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138;
- Bio-Inspired Solar Energy Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, ON M5G 1Z8, Canada
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31
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Fleming GR. The contributions of 49ers to the measurements and models of ultrafast photosynthetic energy transfer. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2018; 135:3-8. [PMID: 28247235 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-017-0360-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2017] [Accepted: 02/21/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Progress in measuring and understanding the mechanism of the elementary energy transfer steps in photosynthetic light harvesting from roughly 1949 to the present is sketched with a focus on the group of scientists born in 1949 ± 1. Improvements in structural knowledge, laser spectroscopic methods, and quantum dynamical theories have led to the ability to record and calculate with reasonable accuracy the timescales of elementary energy transfer steps. The significance of delocalized excited states and of near-field Coulombic coupling is noted. The microscopic understanding enables consistent coarse graining and should enable a much-improved understanding of the regulation of photosynthetic light harvesting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Graham R Fleming
- Department of Chemistry and Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioengineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
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Gelzinis A, Chmeliov J, Ruban AV, Valkunas L. Can red-emitting state be responsible for fluorescence quenching in LHCII aggregates? PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2018; 135:275-284. [PMID: 28825173 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-017-0430-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2016] [Accepted: 08/08/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) is responsible for protecting the light-harvesting apparatus of plants from damage at high light conditions. Although it is agreed that the major part of NPQ, an energy-dependent quenching (qE), originates in the light-harvesting antenna, its exact mechanism is still debated. In our earlier work (Chmeliov et al. in Nat Plants 2:16045, 2016), we have analyzed the time-resolved fluorescence (TRF) from the trimers and aggregates of the major light-harvesting complexes of plants (LHCII) over a broad temperature range and came to a conclusion that three distinct states are required to describe the experimental data: two of them correspond to the emission bands centered at ~680 and ~700 nm, and the third state is responsible for the excitation quenching. This was opposite to earlier suggestions of a two-state model, where the red-shifted fluorescence and excitation quenching were assumed to be related. To examine such possibility, in the current work we repeat our analysis of the TRF data in terms of the two-state model. We find that even though it can reasonably describe the aggregate fluorescence, it fails to do so for the LHCII trimers. We conclude that the red-emitting state cannot be responsible for fluorescence quenching in the LHCII aggregates and reaffirm that the three-state model is the simplest possible description of the experimental data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrius Gelzinis
- Department of Theoretical Physics, Faculty of Physics, Vilnius University, Saulėtekio Ave. 9, LT-10222, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Department of Molecular Compound Physics, Center for Physical Sciences and Technology, Saulėtekio Ave. 3, LT-10257, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Jevgenij Chmeliov
- Department of Theoretical Physics, Faculty of Physics, Vilnius University, Saulėtekio Ave. 9, LT-10222, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Department of Molecular Compound Physics, Center for Physical Sciences and Technology, Saulėtekio Ave. 3, LT-10257, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Alexander V Ruban
- The School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS, UK
| | - Leonas Valkunas
- Department of Theoretical Physics, Faculty of Physics, Vilnius University, Saulėtekio Ave. 9, LT-10222, Vilnius, Lithuania.
- Department of Molecular Compound Physics, Center for Physical Sciences and Technology, Saulėtekio Ave. 3, LT-10257, Vilnius, Lithuania.
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Zhao F, Cambié D, Janse J, Wieland EW, Kuijpers KPL, Hessel V, Debije MG, Noël T. Scale-up of a Luminescent Solar Concentrator-Based Photomicroreactor via Numbering-up. ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING 2018; 6:422-429. [PMID: 29333350 PMCID: PMC5762165 DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b02687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2017] [Revised: 10/30/2017] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
The use of solar energy to power chemical reactions is a long-standing dream of the chemical community. Recently, visible-light-mediated photoredox catalysis has been recognized as the ideal catalytic transformation to convert solar energy into chemical bonds. However, scaling photochemical transformations has been extremely challenging due to Bouguer-Lambert-Beer law. Recently, we have pioneered the development of luminescent solar concentrator photomicroreactors (LSC-PMs), which display an excellent energy efficiency. These devices harvest solar energy, convert the broad solar energy spectrum to a narrow-wavelength region, and subsequently waveguide the re-emitted photons to the reaction channels. Herein, we report on the scalability of such LSC-PMs via a numbering-up strategy. Paramount in our work was the use of molds that were fabricated via 3D printing. This allowed us to rapidly produce many different prototypes and to optimize experimentally key design aspects in a time-efficient fashion. Reactors up to 32 parallel channels have been fabricated that display an excellent flow distribution using a bifurcated flow distributor (standard deviations below 10%). This excellent flow distribution was crucial to scale up a model reaction efficiently, displaying yields comparable to those obtained in a single-channel device. We also found that interchannel spacing is an important and unique design parameter for numbered-up LSC-PMs, which influences greatly the photon flux experienced within the reaction channels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang Zhao
- Micro
Flow Chemistry and Process Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering
and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Den Dolech 2, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Dario Cambié
- Micro
Flow Chemistry and Process Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering
and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Den Dolech 2, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Jeroen Janse
- Micro
Flow Chemistry and Process Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering
and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Den Dolech 2, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Eric W. Wieland
- Micro
Flow Chemistry and Process Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering
and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Den Dolech 2, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Koen P. L. Kuijpers
- Micro
Flow Chemistry and Process Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering
and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Den Dolech 2, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Volker Hessel
- Micro
Flow Chemistry and Process Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering
and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Den Dolech 2, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Michael G. Debije
- Functional
Organic Materials & Devices, Department of Chemical Engineering
and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Den Dolech 2, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Timothy Noël
- Micro
Flow Chemistry and Process Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering
and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Den Dolech 2, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- E-mail: . Telephone: +31 (0)40 247 3623. Website: www.NoelResearchGroup.com
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34
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Penwell SB, Ginsberg LDS, Noriega R, Ginsberg NS. Resolving ultrafast exciton migration in organic solids at the nanoscale. NATURE MATERIALS 2017; 16:1136-1141. [PMID: 28920937 DOI: 10.1038/nmat4975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2016] [Accepted: 07/25/2017] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Effectiveness of molecular-based light harvesting relies on transport of excitons to charge-transfer sites. Measuring exciton migration, however, has been challenging because of the mismatch between nanoscale migration lengths and the diffraction limit. Instead of using bulk substrate quenching methods, here we define quenching boundaries all-optically with sub-diffraction resolution, thus characterizing spatiotemporal exciton migration on its native nanometre and picosecond scales. By transforming stimulated emission depletion microscopy into a time-resolved ultrafast approach, we measure a 16-nm migration length in poly(2,5-di(hexyloxy)cyanoterephthalylidene) conjugated polymer films. Combined with Monte Carlo exciton hopping simulations, we show that migration in these films is essentially diffusive because intrinsic chromophore energetic disorder is comparable to chromophore inhomogeneous broadening. Our approach will enable previously unattainable correlation of local material structure to exciton migration character, applicable not only to photovoltaic or display-destined organic semiconductors but also to explaining the quintessential exciton migration exhibited in photosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel B Penwell
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Lucas D S Ginsberg
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Rodrigo Noriega
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Naomi S Ginsberg
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Materials Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
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35
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Balevičius V, Fox KF, Bricker WP, Jurinovich S, Prandi IG, Mennucci B, Duffy CDP. Fine control of chlorophyll-carotenoid interactions defines the functionality of light-harvesting proteins in plants. Sci Rep 2017; 7:13956. [PMID: 29066753 PMCID: PMC5655323 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-13720-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2017] [Accepted: 09/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Photosynthetic antenna proteins can be thought of as "programmed solvents", which bind pigments at specific mutual orientations, thus tuning the overall energetic landscape and ensuring highly efficient light-harvesting. While positioning of chlorophyll cofactors is well understood and rationalized by the principle of an "energy funnel", the carotenoids still pose many open questions. Particularly, their short excited state lifetime (<25 ps) renders them potential energy sinks able to compete with the reaction centers and drastically undermine light-harvesting efficiency. Exploration of the orientational phase-space revealed that the placement of central carotenoids minimizes their interaction with the nearest chlorophylls in the plant antenna complexes LHCII, CP26, CP29 and LHCI. At the same time we show that this interaction is highly sensitive to structural perturbations, which has a profound effect on the overall lifetime of the complex. This links the protein dynamics to the light-harvesting regulation in plants by the carotenoids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vytautas Balevičius
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, UK
| | - Kieran F Fox
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, UK
| | - William P Bricker
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Sandro Jurinovich
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, University of Pisa, Via G. Moruzzi 13, Pisa, 56124, Italy
| | - Ingrid G Prandi
- Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Lavras, 37200-000, Lavras, Brazil
- Laboratory of Molecular Modeling Applied to the Chemical and Biological Defense, Military Institute of Engineering, Praça Gen, Tibúrcio, 80, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Benedetta Mennucci
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, University of Pisa, Via G. Moruzzi 13, Pisa, 56124, Italy
| | - Christopher D P Duffy
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, UK.
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36
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Xu P, Roy LM, Croce R. Functional organization of photosystem II antenna complexes: CP29 under the spotlight. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS 2017; 1858:815-822. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2017.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2017] [Revised: 07/28/2017] [Accepted: 07/30/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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37
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van Bezouwen LS, Caffarri S, Kale RS, Kouřil R, Thunnissen AMWH, Oostergetel GT, Boekema EJ. Subunit and chlorophyll organization of the plant photosystem II supercomplex. NATURE PLANTS 2017; 3:17080. [PMID: 28604725 DOI: 10.1038/nplants.2017.80] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2016] [Accepted: 04/24/2017] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Photosystem II (PSII) is a light-driven protein, involved in the primary reactions of photosynthesis. In plant photosynthetic membranes PSII forms large multisubunit supercomplexes, containing a dimeric core and up to four light-harvesting complexes (LHCs), which act as antenna proteins. Here we solved a three-dimensional (3D) structure of the C2S2M2 supercomplex from Arabidopsis thaliana using cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and single-particle analysis at an overall resolution of 5.3 Å. Using a combination of homology modelling and restrained refinement against the cryo-EM map, it was possible to model atomic structures for all antenna complexes and almost all core subunits. We located all 35 chlorophylls of the core region based on the cyanobacterial PSII structure, whose positioning is highly conserved, as well as all the chlorophylls of the LHCII S and M trimers. A total of 13 and 9 chlorophylls were identified in CP26 and CP24, respectively. Energy flow from LHC complexes to the PSII reaction centre is proposed to follow preferential pathways: CP26 and CP29 directly transfer to the core using several routes for efficient transfer; the S trimer is directly connected to CP43 and the M trimer can efficiently transfer energy to the core through CP29 and the S trimer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura S van Bezouwen
- Electron microscopy and Protein crystallography group, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Stefano Caffarri
- Aix Marseille Université, CEA, CNRS, BIAM, Laboratoire de Génétique et Biophysique des Plantes, 13009 Marseille, France
| | - Ravindra S Kale
- Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Šlechtitelů 27, 783 71 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Roman Kouřil
- Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Šlechtitelů 27, 783 71 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Andy-Mark W H Thunnissen
- Electron microscopy and Protein crystallography group, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Gert T Oostergetel
- Electron microscopy and Protein crystallography group, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Egbert J Boekema
- Electron microscopy and Protein crystallography group, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
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38
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Lee MK, Bravaya KB, Coker DF. First-Principles Models for Biological Light-Harvesting: Phycobiliprotein Complexes from Cryptophyte Algae. J Am Chem Soc 2017; 139:7803-7814. [DOI: 10.1021/jacs.7b01780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Mi Kyung Lee
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Ksenia B. Bravaya
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - David F. Coker
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
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Roden JJJ, Bennett DIG, Whaley KB. Long-range energy transport in photosystem II. J Chem Phys 2017; 144:245101. [PMID: 27369543 DOI: 10.1063/1.4953243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
We simulate the long-range inter-complex electronic energy transfer in photosystem II-from the antenna complex, via a core complex, to the reaction center-using a non-Markovian (ZOFE) quantum master equation description that allows the electronic coherence involved in the energy transfer to be explicitly included at all length scales. This allows us to identify all locations where coherence is manifested and to further identify the pathways of the energy transfer in the full network of coupled chromophores using a description based on excitation probability currents. We investigate how the energy transfer depends on the initial excitation-localized, coherent initial excitation versus delocalized, incoherent initial excitation-and find that the overall energy transfer is remarkably robust with respect to such strong variations of the initial condition. To explore the importance of vibrationally enhanced transfer and to address the question of optimization in the system parameters, we systematically vary the strength of the coupling between the electronic and the vibrational degrees of freedom. We find that the natural parameters lie in a (broad) region that enables optimal transfer efficiency and that the overall long-range energy transfer on a ns time scale appears to be very robust with respect to variations in the vibronic coupling of up to an order of magnitude. Nevertheless, vibrationally enhanced transfer appears to be crucial to obtain a high transfer efficiency, with the latter falling sharply for couplings outside the optimal range. Comparison of our full quantum simulations to results obtained with a "classical" rate equation based on a modified-Redfield/generalized-Förster description previously used to simulate energy transfer dynamics in the entire photosystem II complex shows good agreement for the overall time scales of excitation energy transport.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan J J Roden
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Doran I G Bennett
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - K Birgitta Whaley
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
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40
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Murphy CD, Roodvoets MS, Austen EJ, Dolan A, Barnett A, Campbell DA. Photoinactivation of Photosystem II in Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0168991. [PMID: 28129341 PMCID: PMC5271679 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2016] [Accepted: 12/10/2016] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The marine picocyanobacteria Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus numerically dominate open ocean phytoplankton. Although evolutionarily related they are ecologically distinct, with different strategies to harvest, manage and exploit light. We grew representative strains of Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus and tracked their susceptibility to photoinactivation of Photosystem II under a range of light levels. As expected blue light provoked more rapid photoinactivation than did an equivalent level of red light. The previous growth light level altered the susceptibility of Synechococcus, but not Prochlorococcus, to this photoinactivation. We resolved a simple linear pattern when we expressed the yield of photoinactivation on the basis of photons delivered to Photosystem II photochemistry, plotted versus excitation pressure upon Photosystem II, the balance between excitation and downstream metabolism. A high excitation pressure increases the generation of reactive oxygen species, and thus increases the yield of photoinactivation of Photosystem II. Blue photons, however, retained a higher baseline photoinactivation across a wide range of excitation pressures. Our experiments thus uncovered the relative influences of the direct photoinactivation of Photosystem II by blue photons which dominates under low to moderate blue light, and photoinactivation as a side effect of reactive oxygen species which dominates under higher excitation pressure. Synechococcus enjoyed a positive metabolic return upon the repair or the synthesis of a Photosystem II, across the range of light levels we tested. In contrast Prochlorococcus only enjoyed a positive return upon synthesis of a Photosystem II up to 400 μmol photons m-2 s-1. These differential cost-benefits probably underlie the distinct photoacclimation strategies of the species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cole D. Murphy
- Biochemistry and Chemistry, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada
| | - Mitchell S. Roodvoets
- Biochemistry and Chemistry, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada
| | - Emily J. Austen
- Biology, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada
| | - Allison Dolan
- Biology, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada
| | - Audrey Barnett
- Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, United States of America
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41
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Fox KF, Balevičius V, Chmeliov J, Valkunas L, Ruban AV, Duffy CDP. The carotenoid pathway: what is important for excitation quenching in plant antenna complexes? Phys Chem Chem Phys 2017; 19:22957-22968. [DOI: 10.1039/c7cp03535g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Plant light-harvesting is regulated by the Non-Photochemical Quenching (NPQ) mechanism involving the slow trapping of excitation energy by carotenoids in the Photosystem II (PSII) antenna in response to high light.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kieran F. Fox
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences
- Queen Mary University of London
- London E1 4NS
- UK
| | - Vytautas Balevičius
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences
- Queen Mary University of London
- London E1 4NS
- UK
| | - Jevgenij Chmeliov
- Department of Theoretical Physics
- Faculty of Physics
- Vilnius University
- Sauletekio Ave. 9
- 10222 Vilnius
| | - Leonas Valkunas
- Department of Theoretical Physics
- Faculty of Physics
- Vilnius University
- Sauletekio Ave. 9
- 10222 Vilnius
| | - Alexander V. Ruban
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences
- Queen Mary University of London
- London E1 4NS
- UK
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42
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Ultrafast infrared observation of exciton equilibration from oriented single crystals of photosystem II. Nat Commun 2016; 7:13977. [PMID: 28008915 PMCID: PMC5196431 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2016] [Accepted: 11/14/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
In oxygenic photosynthesis, two photosystems work in series. Each of them contains a reaction centre that is surrounded by light-harvesting antennae, which absorb the light and transfer the excitation energy to the reaction centre where electron transfer reactions are driven. Here we report a critical test for two contrasting models of light harvesting by photosystem II cores, known as the trap-limited and the transfer-to-the trap-limited model. Oriented single crystals of photosystem II core complexes of Synechococcus elongatus are excited by polarized visible light and the transient absorption is probed with polarized light in the infrared. The dichroic amplitudes resulting from photoselection are maintained on the 60 ps timescale that corresponds to the dominant energy transfer process providing compelling evidence for the transfer-to-the-trap limitation of the overall light-harvesting process. This finding has functional implications for the quenching of excited states allowing plants to survive under high light intensities.
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43
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Brédas JL, Sargent EH, Scholes GD. Photovoltaic concepts inspired by coherence effects in photosynthetic systems. NATURE MATERIALS 2016; 16:35-44. [PMID: 27994245 DOI: 10.1038/nmat4767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2016] [Accepted: 09/05/2016] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
The past decade has seen rapid advances in our understanding of how coherent and vibronic phenomena in biological photosynthetic systems aid in the efficient transport of energy from light-harvesting antennas to photosynthetic reaction centres. Such coherence effects suggest strategies to increase transport lengths even in the presence of structural disorder. Here we explore how these principles could be exploited in making improved solar cells. We investigate in depth the case of organic materials, systems in which energy and charge transport stand to be improved by overcoming challenges that arise from the effects of static and dynamic disorder - structural and energetic - and from inherently strong electron-vibration couplings. We discuss how solar-cell device architectures can evolve to use coherence-exploiting materials, and we speculate as to the prospects for a coherent energy conversion system. We conclude with a survey of the impacts of coherence and bioinspiration on diverse solar-energy harvesting solutions, including artificial photosynthetic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Luc Brédas
- Division of Physical Science and Engineering, Solar and Photovoltaics Engineering Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Edward H Sargent
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G4, Canada
| | - Gregory D Scholes
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
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44
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Lewis NHC, Gruenke NL, Oliver TAA, Ballottari M, Bassi R, Fleming GR. Observation of Electronic Excitation Transfer Through Light Harvesting Complex II Using Two-Dimensional Electronic-Vibrational Spectroscopy. J Phys Chem Lett 2016; 7:4197-4206. [PMID: 27704843 PMCID: PMC6314458 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.6b02280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Light-harvesting complex II (LHCII) serves a central role in light harvesting for oxygenic photosynthesis and is arguably the most important photosynthetic antenna complex. In this work, we present two-dimensional electronic-vibrational (2DEV) spectra of LHCII isolated from spinach, demonstrating the possibility of using this technique to track the transfer of electronic excitation energy between specific pigments within the complex. We assign the spectral bands via comparison with the 2DEV spectra of the isolated chromophores, chlorophyll a and b, and present evidence that excitation energy between the pigments of the complex are observed in these spectra. Finally, we analyze the essential components of the 2DEV spectra using singular value decomposition, which makes it possible to reveal the relaxation pathways within this complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas H C Lewis
- Department of Chemistry, University of California , Berkeley, California 94 720, United States
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Natalie L Gruenke
- Department of Chemistry, University of California , Berkeley, California 94 720, United States
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Thomas A A Oliver
- Department of Chemistry, University of California , Berkeley, California 94 720, United States
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Matteo Ballottari
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Facoltà di Scienze, Universitá di Verona , Strada Le Grazie, I-37134 Verona, Italia
| | - Roberto Bassi
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Facoltà di Scienze, Universitá di Verona , Strada Le Grazie, I-37134 Verona, Italia
| | - Graham R Fleming
- Department of Chemistry, University of California , Berkeley, California 94 720, United States
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
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45
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Quan WD, Pitto-Barry A, Baker LA, Stulz E, Napier R, O'Reilly RK, Stavros VG. Retaining individualities: the photodynamics of self-ordering porphyrin assemblies. Chem Commun (Camb) 2016; 52:1938-41. [PMID: 26680651 PMCID: PMC4720934 DOI: 10.1039/c5cc09095d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Retained photochemical properties – a simple porphyrin–polyDMA conjugate with the ability to self assemble into large (∼1 μm) vesicles in water. The photodynamics are remarkably preserved despite the extensive aggregation.
The retention of photochemical properties of individual chromophores is a key feature of biological light harvesting complexes. This is achieved despite extensive aggregation of the chromophores, which in synthetic chromophore assemblies often yields a change in spectral characteristics. As an alternative approach towards mimicking biological light harvesting complexes, we report the synthesis of porphyrin assemblies which retained the photochemical properties of the individual chromophore units despite their substantial aggregation. These new materials highlight a new bottom-up approach towards the design and understanding of more complex biomimetic and naturally occurring biological systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Dong Quan
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, UK. and Molecular Organisation and Assembly of Cells Doctoral Training Center (MOAC DTC), University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, UK
| | - Anaïs Pitto-Barry
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, UK.
| | - Lewis A Baker
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, UK. and Molecular Organisation and Assembly of Cells Doctoral Training Center (MOAC DTC), University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, UK
| | - Eugen Stulz
- School of Chemistry & Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, UK
| | - Richard Napier
- School of Life Science, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, UK
| | - Rachel K O'Reilly
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, UK.
| | - Vasilios G Stavros
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, UK.
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46
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Yoneda Y, Katayama T, Nagasawa Y, Miyasaka H, Umena Y. Dynamics of Excitation Energy Transfer Between the Subunits of Photosystem II Dimer. J Am Chem Soc 2016; 138:11599-605. [DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6b04316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yusuke Yoneda
- Graduate
School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka560-8531, Japan
| | - Tetsuro Katayama
- Graduate
School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka560-8531, Japan
| | - Yutaka Nagasawa
- Graduate
School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka560-8531, Japan
- College
of Life Science, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu, Shiga 525-8577, Japan
- PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Miyasaka
- Graduate
School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka560-8531, Japan
| | - Yasufumi Umena
- Research
Institute for Interdisciplinary Science, Okayama University, Kita-ku, Okayama 700-8530, Japan
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47
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Live-cell visualization of excitation energy dynamics in chloroplast thylakoid structures. Sci Rep 2016; 6:29940. [PMID: 27416900 PMCID: PMC4945916 DOI: 10.1038/srep29940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2016] [Accepted: 06/27/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The intricate molecular processes underlying photosynthesis have long been studied using various analytic approaches. However, the three-dimensional (3D) dynamics of such photosynthetic processes remain unexplored due to technological limitations related to investigating intraorganellar mechanisms in vivo. By developing a system for high-speed 3D laser scanning confocal microscopy combined with high-sensitivity multiple-channel detection, we visualized excitation energy dynamics in thylakoid structures within chloroplasts of live Physcomitrella patens cells. Two distinct thylakoid structures in the chloroplast, namely the grana and stroma lamellae, were visualized three-dimensionally in live cells. The simultaneous detection of the shorter (than ~670 nm) and longer (than ~680 nm) wavelength regions of chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence reveals different spatial characteristics-irregular and vertical structures, respectively. Spectroscopic analyses showed that the shorter and longer wavelength regions of Chl fluorescence are affected more by free light-harvesting antenna proteins and photosystem II supercomplexes, respectively. The high-speed 3D time-lapse imaging of the shorter and longer wavelength regions also reveals different structural dynamics-rapid and slow movements within 1.5 seconds, respectively. Such structural dynamics of the two wavelength regions of Chl fluorescence would indicate excitation energy dynamics between light-harvesting antenna proteins and photosystems, reflecting the energetically active nature of photosynthetic proteins in thylakoid membranes.
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Kreisbeck C, Aspuru-Guzik A. Efficiency of energy funneling in the photosystem II supercomplex of higher plants. Chem Sci 2016; 7:4174-4183. [PMID: 30155062 PMCID: PMC6014079 DOI: 10.1039/c5sc04296h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2015] [Accepted: 02/24/2016] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The investigation of energy transfer properties in photosynthetic multi-protein networks gives insight into their underlying design principles. Here, we discuss the excitonic energy transfer mechanisms of the photosystem II (PS-II) C2S2M2 supercomplex, which is the largest isolated functional unit of the photosynthetic apparatus of higher plants. Despite the lack of a definite energy gradient in C2S2M2, we show that the energy transfer is directed by relaxation to low energy states. C2S2M2 is not organized to form pathways with strict energetically downhill transfer, which has direct consequences for the transfer efficiency, transfer pathways and transfer limiting steps. The exciton dynamics is sensitive to small changes in the energetic layout which, for instance, are induced by the reorganization of vibrational coordinates. In order to incorporate the reorganization process in our numerical simulations, we go beyond rate equations and use the hierarchically coupled equation of motion approach (HEOM). While transfer from the peripheral antenna to the proteins in proximity to the reaction center occurs on a faster time scale, the final step of the energy transfer to the RC core is rather slow, and thus the limiting step in the transfer chain. Our findings suggest that the structure of the PS-II supercomplex guarantees photoprotection rather than optimized efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Kreisbeck
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology , Harvard University , Cambridge , MA , USA . ;
| | - Alán Aspuru-Guzik
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology , Harvard University , Cambridge , MA , USA . ;
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49
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The lowest-energy chlorophyll of photosystem II is adjacent to the peripheral antenna: Emitting states of CP47 assigned via circularly polarized luminescence. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS 2016; 1857:1580-1593. [PMID: 27342201 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2016.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2016] [Revised: 06/16/2016] [Accepted: 06/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The identification of low-energy chlorophyll pigments in photosystem II (PSII) is critical to our understanding of the kinetics and mechanism of this important enzyme. We report parallel circular dichroism (CD) and circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) measurements at liquid helium temperatures of the proximal antenna protein CP47. This assembly hosts the lowest-energy chlorophylls in PSII, responsible for the well-known "F695" fluorescence band of thylakoids and PSII core complexes. Our new spectra enable a clear identification of the lowest-energy exciton state of CP47. This state exhibits a small but measurable excitonic delocalization, as predicated by its CD and CPL. Using structure-based simulations incorporating the new spectra, we propose a revised set of site energies for the 16 chlorophylls of CP47. The significant difference from previous analyses is that the lowest-energy pigment is assigned as Chl 612 (alternately numbered Chl 11). The new assignment is readily reconciled with the large number of experimental observations in the literature, while the most common previous assignment for the lowest energy pigment, Chl 627(29), is shown to be inconsistent with CD and CPL results. Chl 612(11) is near the peripheral light-harvesting system in higher plants, in a lumen-exposed region of the thylakoid membrane. The low-energy pigment is also near a recently proposed binding site of the PsbS protein. This result consequently has significant implications for our understanding of the kinetics and regulation of energy transfer in PSII.
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50
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Structure of spinach photosystem II-LHCII supercomplex at 3.2 Å resolution. Nature 2016; 534:69-74. [PMID: 27251276 DOI: 10.1038/nature18020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 368] [Impact Index Per Article: 46.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2016] [Accepted: 04/19/2016] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
During photosynthesis, the plant photosystem II core complex receives excitation energy from the peripheral light-harvesting complex II (LHCII). The pathways along which excitation energy is transferred between them, and their assembly mechanisms, remain to be deciphered through high-resolution structural studies. Here we report the structure of a 1.1-megadalton spinach photosystem II-LHCII supercomplex solved at 3.2 Å resolution through single-particle cryo-electron microscopy. The structure reveals a homodimeric supramolecular system in which each monomer contains 25 protein subunits, 105 chlorophylls, 28 carotenoids and other cofactors. Three extrinsic subunits (PsbO, PsbP and PsbQ), which are essential for optimal oxygen-evolving activity of photosystem II, form a triangular crown that shields the Mn4CaO5-binding domains of CP43 and D1. One major trimeric and two minor monomeric LHCIIs associate with each core-complex monomer, and the antenna-core interactions are reinforced by three small intrinsic subunits (PsbW, PsbH and PsbZ). By analysing the closely connected interfacial chlorophylls, we have obtained detailed insights into the energy-transfer pathways between the antenna and core complexes.
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