Comparative Study of the Energy Transfer Kinetics in Artificial BChl e Aggregates Containing a BChl a Acceptor and BChl e-Containing Chlorosomes of Chlorobium phaeobacteroides

Efficient two-step excitation energy transfer in artificial light-harvesting antenna based on bacteriochlorophyll aggregates

Chlorosomes of green photosynthetic bacteria are large light-harvesting complexes enabling these organisms to survive at extremely low-light conditions. Bacteriochlorophylls found in chlorosomes self-organize and are ideal candidates for use in biomimetic light-harvesting in artificial photosynthesis and other applications for solar energy utilization. Here we report on the construction and characterization of an artificial antenna consisting of bacteriochlorophyll c co-aggregated with β-carotene, which is used to extend the light-harvesting spectral range, and bacteriochlorophyll a, which acts as a final acceptor for excitation energy. Efficient energy transfer between all three components was observed by means of fluorescence spectroscopy. The efficiency varies with the β-carotene content, which increases the average distance between the donor and acceptor in both energy transfer steps. The efficiency ranges from 89 to 37% for the transfer from β-carotene to bacteriochlorophyll c, and from 93 to 69% for the bacteriochlorophyll c to bacteriochlorophyll a step. A significant part of this study was dedicated to a development of methods for determination of energy transfer efficiency. These methods may be applied also for study of chlorosomes and other pigment complexes.

The role of charge-transfer states in energy transfer and dissipation within natural and artificial bacteriochlorophyll proteins

Understanding how specific protein environments affect the mechanisms of non-radiative energy dissipation within densely assembled chlorophylls in photosynthetic protein complexes is of great interest to the construction of bioinspired solar energy conversion devices. Mixing of charge-transfer and excitonic states in excitonically interacting chlorophylls was implicated in shortening excited states lifetimes but its relevance to active control of energy dissipation in natural systems is under considerable debate. Here we show that the degree of fluorescence quenching in two similar pairs of excitonically interacting bacteriochlorophyll derivatives is directly associated with increasing charge transfer character in the excited state, and that the protein environment may control non-radiative dissipation by affecting the mixing of charge transfer and excitonic states. The capability of local protein environments to determine the fate of excited states, and thereby to confer different functionalities to excitonically coupled dimers substantiates the dimer as the basic functional element of photosynthetic enzymes.

Computational determination of the pigment binding motif in the chlorosome protein a of green sulfur bacteria

We present a molecular-scale model of Bacteriochlorophyll a (BChl a) binding to the chlorosome protein A (CsmA) of Chlorobaculum tepidum, and the aggregated pigment–protein dimer, as determined from protein–ligand docking and quantum chemistry calculations. Our calculations provide strong evidence that the BChl a molecule is coordinated to the His25 residue of CsmA, with the magnesium center of the bacteriochlorin ring situated\3 A° from the imidazole nitrogen atom of the histidine sidechain, and the phytyl tail aligned along the nonpolar residues of the a-helix of CsmA. We also confirm that the Qy band in the absorption spectra of BChl a experiences a large (?16 to ?43 nm) redshift when aggregated with another BChl a molecule in the CsmA dimer, compared to the BChl a in solvent; this redshift has been previously established by experimental researchers. We propose that our model of the BChl a–CsmA binding motif, where the dimer contains parallel aligned N-terminal regions, serves as the smallest repeating unit in a larger model of the para-crystalline chlorosome baseplate protein.

Structural variability in wild-type and bchQ bchR mutant chlorosomes of the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobaculum tepidum

The self-aggregated state of bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) c molecules in chlorosomes belonging to a bchQ bchR mutant of the green sulfur bacteria Chlorobaculum tepidum, which mostly produces a single 17(2)-farnesyl-(R)-[8-ethyl,12-methyl]BChl c homologue, was characterized by solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and high-resolution electron microscopy. A nearly complete (1)H and (13)C chemical shift assignment was obtained from well-resolved homonuclear (13)C-(13)C and heteronuclear (1)H-(13)C NMR data sets collected from (13)C-enriched chlorosome preparations. Pronounced doubling (1:1) of specific (13)C and (1)H resonances revealed the presence of two distinct and nonequivalent BChl c components, attributed to all syn- and all anti-coordinated parallel stacks, depending on the rotation of the macrocycle with respect to the 3(1)-methyl group. Steric hindrance from the 20-methyl functionality induces structural differences between the syn and anti forms. A weak but significant and reproducible reflection at 1/0.69 nm(-1) in the direction perpendicular to the curvature of cylindrical segments observed with electron microscopy also suggests parallel stacking of BChl c molecules, though the observed lamellar spacing of 2.4 nm suggests weaker packing than for wild-type chlorosomes. We propose that relaxation of the pseudosymmetry observed for the wild type and a related BChl d mutant leads to extended domains of alternating syn and anti stacks in the bchQ bchR chlorosomes. Domains can be joined to form cylinders by helical syn-anti transition trajectories. The phase separation in domains on the cylindrical surface represents a basic mechanism for establishing suprastructural heterogeneity in an otherwise uniform supramolecular scaffolding framework that is well-ordered at the molecular level.

Hexanol-induced order-disorder transitions in lamellar self-assembling aggregates of bacteriochlorophyll c in Chlorobium tepidum chlorosomes

Chlorosomes are light-harvesting complexes of green photosynthetic bacteria. Chlorosomes contain bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) c, d, or e aggregates that exhibit strong excitonic coupling. The short-range order, which is responsible for the coupling, has been proposed to be augmented by pigment arrangement into undulated lamellar structures with spacing between 2 and 3 nm. Treatment of chlorosomes with hexanol reversibly converts the aggregated chlorosome chlorophylls into a form with spectral properties very similar to that of the monomer. Although this transition has been extensively studied, the structural basis remains unclear due to variability in the obtained morphologies. Here we investigated hexanol-induced structural changes in the lamellar organization of BChl c in chlorosomes from Chlorobium tepidum by a combination of X-ray scattering, electron cryomicroscopy, and optical spectroscopy. At a low hexanol/pigment ratio, the lamellae persisted in the presence of hexanol while the short-range order and exciton interactions between chlorin rings were effectively eliminated, producing a monomer-like absorption. The result suggested that hexanol hydroxyls solvated the chlorin rings while the aliphatic tail partitioned into the hydrophobic part of the lamellar structure. This partitioning extended the chlorosome along its long axis. Further increase of the hexanol/pigment ratio produced round pigment-hexanol droplets, which lost all lamellar order. After hexanol removal the spectral properties were restored. In the samples treated under the high hexanol/pigment ratio, lamellae reassembled in small domains after hexanol removal while the shape and long-range order were irreversibly lost. Thus, all the interactions required for establishing the short-range order by self-assembly are provided by BChl c molecules alone. However, the long-range order and overall shape are imposed by an external structure, e.g., the proteinaceous chlorosome baseplate.