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Wang D, Fiebig OC, Harris D, Toporik H, Ji Y, Chuang C, Nairat M, Tong AL, Ogren JI, Hart SM, Cao J, Sturgis JN, Mazor Y, Schlau-Cohen GS. Elucidating interprotein energy transfer dynamics within the antenna network from purple bacteria. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2220477120. [PMID: 37399405 PMCID: PMC10334754 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2220477120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023] Open
Abstract
In photosynthesis, absorbed light energy transfers through a network of antenna proteins with near-unity quantum efficiency to reach the reaction center, which initiates the downstream biochemical reactions. While the energy transfer dynamics within individual antenna proteins have been extensively studied over the past decades, the dynamics between the proteins are poorly understood due to the heterogeneous organization of the network. Previously reported timescales averaged over such heterogeneity, obscuring individual interprotein energy transfer steps. Here, we isolated and interrogated interprotein energy transfer by embedding two variants of the primary antenna protein from purple bacteria, light-harvesting complex 2 (LH2), together into a near-native membrane disc, known as a nanodisc. We integrated ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy, quantum dynamics simulations, and cryogenic electron microscopy to determine interprotein energy transfer timescales. By varying the diameter of the nanodiscs, we replicated a range of distances between the proteins. The closest distance possible between neighboring LH2, which is the most common in native membranes, is 25 Å and resulted in a timescale of 5.7 ps. Larger distances of 28 to 31 Å resulted in timescales of 10 to 14 ps. Corresponding simulations showed that the fast energy transfer steps between closely spaced LH2 increase transport distances by ∼15%. Overall, our results introduce a framework for well-controlled studies of interprotein energy transfer dynamics and suggest that protein pairs serve as the primary pathway for the efficient transport of solar energy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dihao Wang
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
| | - Olivia C. Fiebig
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
| | - Dvir Harris
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
| | - Hila Toporik
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ85281
- Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ85281
| | - Yi Ji
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
| | - Chern Chuang
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
| | - Muath Nairat
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
| | - Ashley L. Tong
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
| | - John I. Ogren
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
| | - Stephanie M. Hart
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
| | - Jianshu Cao
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
| | - James N. Sturgis
- LISM UMR 7255, CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, Marseille Cedex 913402, France
| | - Yuval Mazor
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ85281
- Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ85281
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2
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Tong AL, Fiebig OC, Nairat M, Harris D, Giansily M, Chenu A, Sturgis JN, Schlau-Cohen GS. Comparison of the Energy-Transfer Rates in Structural and Spectral Variants of the B800-850 Complex from Purple Bacteria. J Phys Chem B 2020; 124:1460-1469. [PMID: 31971387 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b11899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Photosynthetic light harvesting can occur with a remarkable near-unity quantum efficiency. The B800-850 complex, also known as light-harvesting complex 2 (LH2), is the primary light-harvesting complex in purple bacteria and has been extensively studied as a model system. The bacteriochlorophylls of the B800-850 complex are organized into two concentric rings, known as the B800 and B850 rings. However, depending on the species and growth conditions, the number of constituent subunits, the pigment geometry, and the absorption energies vary. While the dynamics of some B800-850 variants have been exhaustively characterized, others have not been measured. Furthermore, a direct and simultaneous comparison of how both structural and spectral differences between variants affect these dynamics has not been performed. In this work, we utilize ultrafast transient absorption measurements to compare the B800 to B850 energy-transfer rates in the B800-850 complex as a function of the number of subunits, geometry, and absorption energies. The nonameric B800-850 complex from Rhodobacter (Rb.) sphaeroides is 40% faster than the octameric B800-850 complex from Rhodospirillum (Rs.) molischianum, consistent with structure-based predictions. In contrast, the blue-shifted B800-820 complex from Rs. molischianum is only 20% faster than the B800-850 complex from Rs. molischianum despite an increase in the spectral overlap between the rings that would be expected to produce a larger increase in the energy-transfer rate. These measurements support current models that contain dark, higher-lying excitonic states to bridge the energy gap between rings, thereby maintaining similar energy-transfer dynamics. Overall, these results demonstrate that energy-transfer dynamics in the B800-850 complex are robust to the spectral and structural variations between species used to optimize energy capture and flow in purple bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley L Tong
- Department of Chemistry , Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge , Massachusetts 02139 , United States
| | - Olivia C Fiebig
- Department of Chemistry , Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge , Massachusetts 02139 , United States
| | - Muath Nairat
- Department of Chemistry , Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge , Massachusetts 02139 , United States
| | - Dvir Harris
- Department of Chemistry , Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge , Massachusetts 02139 , United States
| | - Marcel Giansily
- LISM UMR 7255 , CNRS and Aix-Marseille University , 31 Chemin Joseph Aiguier , Marseille Cedex 9 13402 , France
| | - Aurélia Chenu
- Donostia International Physics Center , E-20018 San Sebastián , Spain.,Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science , E-48013 Bilbao , Spain
| | - James N Sturgis
- LISM UMR 7255 , CNRS and Aix-Marseille University , 31 Chemin Joseph Aiguier , Marseille Cedex 9 13402 , France
| | - Gabriela S Schlau-Cohen
- Department of Chemistry , Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge , Massachusetts 02139 , United States
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3
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Cardoso Ramos F, Nottoli M, Cupellini L, Mennucci B. The molecular mechanisms of light adaption in light-harvesting complexes of purple bacteria revealed by a multiscale modeling. Chem Sci 2019; 10:9650-9662. [PMID: 32055335 PMCID: PMC6988754 DOI: 10.1039/c9sc02886b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2019] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The light-harvesting in photosynthetic purple bacteria can be tuned in response to the light conditions during cell growth. One of the used strategies is to change the energy of the excitons in the major fight-harvesting complex, commonly known as LH2. In the present study we report the first systematic investigation of the microscopic origin of the exciton tuning using three complexes, namely the common (high-light) and the low-light forms of LH2 from Rps. acidophila plus a third complex analogous to the PucD complex from Rps. palustris. The study is based on the combination of classical molecular dynamics of each complex in a lipid membrane and excitonic calculations based on a multiscale quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics approach including a polarizable embedding. From the comparative analysis, it comes out that the mechanisms that govern the adaptation of the complex to different light conditions use the different H-bonding environment around the bacteriochlorophyll pigments to dynamically control both internal and inter-pigment degrees of freedom. While the former have a large effect on the site energies, the latter significantly change the electronic couplings, but only the combination of the two effects can fully reproduce the tuning of the final excitons and explain the observed spectroscopic differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe Cardoso Ramos
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale , Università di Pisa , Via G. Moruzzi 13 , 56124 Pisa , Italy .
| | - Michele Nottoli
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale , Università di Pisa , Via G. Moruzzi 13 , 56124 Pisa , Italy .
| | - Lorenzo Cupellini
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale , Università di Pisa , Via G. Moruzzi 13 , 56124 Pisa , Italy .
| | - Benedetta Mennucci
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale , Università di Pisa , Via G. Moruzzi 13 , 56124 Pisa , Italy .
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4
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Mallus MI, Shakya Y, Prajapati JD, Kleinekathöfer U. Environmental effects on the dynamics in the light-harvesting complexes LH2 and LH3 based on molecular simulations. Chem Phys 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chemphys.2018.08.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
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Rathbone HW, Davis JA, Michie KA, Goodchild SC, Robertson NO, Curmi PMG. Coherent phenomena in photosynthetic light harvesting: part two-observations in biological systems. Biophys Rev 2018; 10:1443-1463. [PMID: 30242555 PMCID: PMC6233342 DOI: 10.1007/s12551-018-0456-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2018] [Accepted: 09/06/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Considerable debate surrounds the question of whether or not quantum mechanics plays a significant, non-trivial role in photosynthetic light harvesting. Many have proposed that quantum superpositions and/or quantum transport phenomena may be responsible for the efficiency and robustness of energy transport present in biological systems. The critical experimental observations comprise the observation of coherent oscillations or "quantum beats" via femtosecond laser spectroscopy, which have been observed in many different light harvesting systems. Part Two of this review aims to provide an overview of experimental observations of energy transfer in the most studied light harvesting systems. Length scales, derived from crystallographic studies, are combined with energy and time scales of the beats observed via spectroscopy. A consensus is emerging that most long-lived (hundreds of femtoseconds) coherent phenomena are of vibrational or vibronic origin, where the latter may result in coherent excitation transport within a protein complex. In contrast, energy transport between proteins is likely to be incoherent in nature. The question of whether evolution has selected for these non-trivial quantum phenomena may be an unanswerable question, as dense packings of chromophores will lead to strong coupling and hence non-trivial quantum phenomena. As such, one cannot discern whether evolution has optimised light harvesting systems for high chromophore density or for the ensuing quantum effects as these are inextricably linked and cannot be switched off.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harry W Rathbone
- School of Physics, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, 2052, Australia
| | - Jeffery A Davis
- Centre for Quantum and Optical Science, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria, 3122, Australia
| | - Katharine A Michie
- School of Physics, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, 2052, Australia
| | - Sophia C Goodchild
- Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Neil O Robertson
- School of Physics, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, 2052, Australia
| | - Paul M G Curmi
- School of Physics, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, 2052, Australia.
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Nottoli M, Jurinovich S, Cupellini L, Gardiner AT, Cogdell R, Mennucci B. The role of charge-transfer states in the spectral tuning of antenna complexes of purple bacteria. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2018; 137:215-226. [PMID: 29502240 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-018-0492-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2018] [Accepted: 02/23/2018] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
The LH2 antenna complexes of purple bacteria occur, depending on light conditions, in various different spectroscopic forms, with a similar structure but different absorption spectra. The differences are related to point changes in the primary amino acid sequence, but the molecular-level relationship between these changes and the resulting spectrum is still not well understood. We undertook a systematic quantum chemical analysis of all the main factors that contribute to the exciton structure, looking at how the environment modulates site energies and couplings in the B800-850 and B800-820 spectroscopic forms of LH2. A multiscale approach combining quantum chemistry and an atomistic classical embedding has been used where mutual polarization effects between the two parts are taken into account. We find that the loss of hydrogen bonds following amino acid changes can only explain a part of the observed blue-shift in the B850 band. The coupling of excitonic states to charge-transfer states, which is different in the two forms, contributes with a similar amount to the overall blue-shift.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Nottoli
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, University of Pisa, Via G. Moruzzi 13, I-56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Sandro Jurinovich
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, University of Pisa, Via G. Moruzzi 13, I-56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Cupellini
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, University of Pisa, Via G. Moruzzi 13, I-56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Alastair T Gardiner
- Glasgow Biomedical Research Centre, Institute of Molecular Cell and Systems Biology, University of Glasgow, 126 University Place, Glasgow, G12 8TA, Scotland, UK
| | - Richard Cogdell
- Glasgow Biomedical Research Centre, Institute of Molecular Cell and Systems Biology, University of Glasgow, 126 University Place, Glasgow, G12 8TA, Scotland, UK
| | - Benedetta Mennucci
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, University of Pisa, Via G. Moruzzi 13, I-56124, Pisa, Italy.
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7
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Farooq S, Chmeliov J, Wientjes E, Koehorst R, Bader A, Valkunas L, Trinkunas G, van Amerongen H. Dynamic feedback of the photosystem II reaction centre on photoprotection in plants. NATURE PLANTS 2018; 4:225-231. [PMID: 29610535 DOI: 10.1038/s41477-018-0127-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2017] [Accepted: 03/01/2018] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Photosystem II of higher plants is protected against light damage by thermal dissipation of excess excitation energy, a process that can be monitored through non-photochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence. When the light intensity is lowered, non-photochemical quenching largely disappears on a time scale ranging from tens of seconds to many minutes. With the use of picosecond fluorescence spectroscopy, we demonstrate that one of the underlying mechanisms is only functional when the reaction centre of photosystem II is closed, that is when electron transfer is blocked and the risk of photodamage is high. This is accompanied by the appearance of a long-wavelength fluorescence band. As soon as the reaction centre reopens, this quenching, together with the long-wavelength fluorescence, disappears instantaneously. This allows plants to maintain a high level of photosynthetic efficiency even in dangerous high-light conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shazia Farooq
- Laboratory of Biophysics, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Jevgenij Chmeliov
- Institute of Chemical Physics, Faculty of Physics, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Department of Molecular Compound Physics, Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Emilie Wientjes
- Laboratory of Biophysics, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Rob Koehorst
- Laboratory of Biophysics, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Arjen Bader
- Laboratory of Biophysics, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
- MicroSpectroscopy Research Facility, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Leonas Valkunas
- Institute of Chemical Physics, Faculty of Physics, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Department of Molecular Compound Physics, Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Gediminas Trinkunas
- Department of Molecular Compound Physics, Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Herbert van Amerongen
- Laboratory of Biophysics, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
- MicroSpectroscopy Research Facility, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
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8
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Montemayor D, Rivera E, Jang SJ. Computational Modeling of Exciton-Bath Hamiltonians for Light Harvesting 2 and Light Harvesting 3 Complexes of Purple Photosynthetic Bacteria at Room Temperature. J Phys Chem B 2018. [PMID: 29533664 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b00358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Light harvesting 2 (LH2) complex is the primary component of the photosynthetic unit of purple bacteria that is responsible for harvesting and relaying excitons. The electronic absorption line shape of LH2 contains two major bands at 800 and 850 nm wavelength regions. Under low light conditions, some species of purple bacteria replace LH2 with light harvesting 3 (LH3), a variant form with almost the same structure as the former but with distinctively different spectral features. The major difference between the absorption line shapes of LH2 and LH3 is the shift of the 850 nm band of the former to a new 820 nm region. The microscopic origin of this difference has been the subject of some theoretical/computational investigations. However, the genuine molecular level source of such a difference is not clearly understood yet. This work reports a comprehensive computational study of LH2 and LH3 complexes so as to clarify different molecular level features of LH2 and LH3 complexes and to construct simple exciton-bath models with a common form. All-atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of both LH2 and LH3 complexes provide detailed molecular level structural differences of bacteriochlorophylls (BChls) in the two complexes, in particular, in their patterns of hydrogen bonding (HB) and torsional angles of the acetyl group. Time-dependent density functional theory calculation of the excitation energies of BChls for structures sampled from the MD simulations suggests that the observed differences in the HB and torsional angles cannot fully account for the experimentally observed spectral shift of LH3. Potential sources that can explain the actual spectral shift of LH3 are discussed, and their magnitudes are assessed through fitting of experimental line shapes. These results demonstrate the feasibility of developing simple exciton-bath models for both LH2 and LH3, which can be employed for large-scale exciton quantum dynamics in their aggregates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Montemayor
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Queens College , City University of New York , 65-30 Kissena Boulevard , Queens , New York 11367 , United States.,PhD Programs in Chemistry and Physics, and Initiative for the Theoretical Sciences, Graduate Center , City University of New York , 365 Fifth Avenue , New York , New York 10016 , United States
| | - Eva Rivera
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Queens College , City University of New York , 65-30 Kissena Boulevard , Queens , New York 11367 , United States.,PhD Programs in Chemistry and Physics, and Initiative for the Theoretical Sciences, Graduate Center , City University of New York , 365 Fifth Avenue , New York , New York 10016 , United States
| | - Seogjoo J Jang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Queens College , City University of New York , 65-30 Kissena Boulevard , Queens , New York 11367 , United States.,PhD Programs in Chemistry and Physics, and Initiative for the Theoretical Sciences, Graduate Center , City University of New York , 365 Fifth Avenue , New York , New York 10016 , United States
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9
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Apoprotein heterogeneity increases spectral disorder and a step-wise modification of the B850 fluorescence peak position. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS 2017; 1859:137-144. [PMID: 29174011 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2017.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2017] [Revised: 10/24/2017] [Accepted: 11/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
It has already been established that the quaternary structure of the main light-harvesting complex (LH2) from the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris is a nonameric 'ring' of PucAB heterodimers and under low-light culturing conditions an increased diversity of PucB synthesis occurs. In this work, single molecule fluorescence emission studies show that different classes of LH2 'rings' are present in "low-light" adapted cells and that an unknown chaperon process creates multiple sub-types of 'rings' with more conformational sub-states and configurations. This increase in spectral disorder significantly augments the cross-section for photon absorption and subsequent energy flow to the reaction centre trap when photon availability is a limiting factor. This work highlights yet another variant used by phototrophs to gather energy for cellular development.
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Mirkovic T, Ostroumov EE, Anna JM, van Grondelle R, Govindjee, Scholes GD. Light Absorption and Energy Transfer in the Antenna Complexes of Photosynthetic Organisms. Chem Rev 2016; 117:249-293. [PMID: 27428615 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.6b00002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 604] [Impact Index Per Article: 75.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
The process of photosynthesis is initiated by the capture of sunlight by a network of light-absorbing molecules (chromophores), which are also responsible for the subsequent funneling of the excitation energy to the reaction centers. Through evolution, genetic drift, and speciation, photosynthetic organisms have discovered many solutions for light harvesting. In this review, we describe the underlying photophysical principles by which this energy is absorbed, as well as the mechanisms of electronic excitation energy transfer (EET). First, optical properties of the individual pigment chromophores present in light-harvesting antenna complexes are introduced, and then we examine the collective behavior of pigment-pigment and pigment-protein interactions. The description of energy transfer, in particular multichromophoric antenna structures, is shown to vary depending on the spatial and energetic landscape, which dictates the relative coupling strength between constituent pigment molecules. In the latter half of the article, we focus on the light-harvesting complexes of purple bacteria as a model to illustrate the present understanding of the synergetic effects leading to EET optimization of light-harvesting antenna systems while exploring the structure and function of the integral chromophores. We end this review with a brief overview of the energy-transfer dynamics and pathways in the light-harvesting antennas of various photosynthetic organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tihana Mirkovic
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto , 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - Evgeny E Ostroumov
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University , Washington Road, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States
| | - Jessica M Anna
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania , 231 S. 34th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Rienk van Grondelle
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Sciences, VU University Amsterdam , De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Govindjee
- Department of Biochemistry, Center of Biophysics & Quantitative Biology, and Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 265 Morrill Hall, 505 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Gregory D Scholes
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto , 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada.,Department of Chemistry, Princeton University , Washington Road, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States
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11
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Nowicka B, Kruk J. Powered by light: Phototrophy and photosynthesis in prokaryotes and its evolution. Microbiol Res 2016; 186-187:99-118. [PMID: 27242148 DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2016.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2015] [Revised: 02/12/2016] [Accepted: 04/01/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Photosynthesis is a complex metabolic process enabling photosynthetic organisms to use solar energy for the reduction of carbon dioxide into biomass. This ancient pathway has revolutionized life on Earth. The most important event was the development of oxygenic photosynthesis. It had a tremendous impact on the Earth's geochemistry and the evolution of living beings, as the rise of atmospheric molecular oxygen enabled the development of a highly efficient aerobic metabolism, which later led to the evolution of complex multicellular organisms. The mechanism of photosynthesis has been the subject of intensive research and a great body of data has been accumulated. However, the evolution of this process is not fully understood, and the development of photosynthesis in prokaryota in particular remains an unresolved question. This review is devoted to the occurrence and main features of phototrophy and photosynthesis in prokaryotes. Hypotheses concerning the origin and spread of photosynthetic traits in bacteria are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatrycze Nowicka
- Department of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków, Poland.
| | - Jerzy Kruk
- Department of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków, Poland.
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Abstract
The design of optimal light-harvesting (supra)molecular systems and materials is one of the most challenging frontiers of science. Theoretical methods and computational models play a fundamental role in this difficult task, as they allow the establishment of structural blueprints inspired by natural photosynthetic organisms that can be applied to the design of novel artificial light-harvesting devices. Among theoretical strategies, the application of quantum chemical tools represents an important reality that has already reached an evident degree of maturity, although it still has to show its real potentials. This Review presents an overview of the state of the art of this strategy, showing the actual fields of applicability but also indicating its current limitations, which need to be solved in future developments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carles Curutchet
- Departament de Fisicoquímica, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona , Av. Joan XXIII s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Benedetta Mennucci
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, University of Pisa , via G. Moruzzi 13, 56124 Pisa, Italy
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13
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