Immobilization of functional light antenna structures derived from the filamentous green bacterium Chloroflexus aurantiacus

Isolation and structural determination of C8-vinyl-bacteriochlorophyll d from the bciA and bchU double mutant of the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobaculum tepidum

The mutant lacking enzymes BciA and BchU, that catalyzed reduction of the C8-vinyl group and methylation at the C20 position of bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) c, respectively, in the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobaculum tepidum, were constructed. This mutant accumulated C8-vinyl-BChl d derivatives, and a molecular structure of the major pigment was fully characterized by its NMR, mass, and circular dichroism spectra, as well as by chemical modification: (3(1) R)-8-vinyl-12-ethyl-(R[V,E])BChl d was confirmed as a new BChl d species in the cells. In vitro chlorosome-like self-aggregates of this pigment were prepared in an aqueous micellar solution, and formed more rapidly than those of (3(1) R)-8,12-diethyl-(R[E,E])BChl d isolated from the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobaculum parvum NCIB8327d synthesizing BChl d homologs. Their red-shifted Q y absorption bands were almost the same at 761 nm, and the value was larger than those of in vitro self-aggregates of R[E,E]BChl c (737 nm) and R[V,E]BChl c (726 nm), while the monomeric states of the former gave Q y bands at shorter wavelengths than those of the latter. Red shifts by self-aggregation of the two BChl d species were estimated to be 110 nm and much larger than those by BChls c (75 nm for [E,E] and 64 nm for [V,E]).

Comparison of the physical characteristics of chlorosomes from three different phyla of green phototrophic bacteria

Chlorosomes, the major antenna complexes in green sulphur bacteria, filamentous anoxygenic phototrophs, and phototrophic acidobacteria, are attached to the cytoplasmic side of the inner cell membrane and contain thousands of bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) molecules that harvest light and channel the energy to membrane-bound reaction centres. Chlorosomes from phototrophs representing three different phyla, Chloroflexus (Cfx.) aurantiacus, Chlorobaculum (Cba.) tepidum and the newly discovered "Candidatus (Ca.) Chloracidobacterium (Cab.) thermophilum" were analysed using PeakForce Tapping atomic force microscopy (PFT-AFM). Gentle PFT-AFM imaging in buffered solutions that maintained the chlorosomes in a near-native state revealed ellipsoids of variable size, with surface bumps and undulations that differ between individual chlorosomes. Cba. tepidum chlorosomes were the largest (133×57×36nm; 141,000nm(3) volume), compared with chlorosomes from Cfx. aurantiacus (120×44×30nm; 84,000nm(3)) and Ca. Cab. thermophilum (99×40×31nm; 65,000nm(3)). Reflecting the contributions of thousands of pigment-pigment stacking interactions to the stability of these supramolecular assemblies, analysis by nanomechanical mapping shows that chlorosomes are highly stable and that their integrity is disrupted only by very strong forces of 1000-2000pN. AFM topographs of Ca. Cab. thermophilum chlorosomes that had retained their attachment to the cytoplasmic membrane showed that this membrane dynamically changes shape and is composed of protrusions of up to 30nm wide and 6nm above the mica support, possibly representing different protein domains. Spectral imaging revealed significant heterogeneity in the fluorescence emission of individual chlorosomes, likely reflecting the variations in BChl c homolog composition and internal arrangements of the stacked BChls within each chlorosome.

Neutron and light scattering studies of light-harvesting photosynthetic antenna complexes

Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) have been employed in studying the structural information of various biological systems, particularly in systems without high-resolution structural information available. In this report, we briefly present some principles and biological applications of neutron scattering and DLS, compare the differences in information that can be obtained with small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and then report recent studies of SANS and DLS, together with other biophysical approaches, for light-harvesting antenna complexes and reaction centers of purple and green phototrophic bacteria.

Optoelectronic energy transfer at novel biohybrid interfaces using light harvesting complexes from Chloroflexus aurantiacus

In nature, nanoscale supramolecular light harvesting complexes initiate the photosynthetic energy collection process at high quantum efficiencies. In this study, the distinctive antenna structure from Chloroflexus aurantiacusthe chlorosomeis assessed for potential exploitation in novel biohybrid optoelectronic devices. Electrochemical characterization of bacterial fragments containing intact chlorosomes with the photosynthetic apparatus show an increase in the charge storage density near the working electrode upon light stimulation and suggest that chlorosomes contribute approximately one-third of the overall photocurrent. Further, isolated chlorosomes (without additional photosynthetic components, e.g., reaction centers, biochemical mediators) produce a photocurrent (approximately 8-10 nA) under light saturation conditions. Correlative experiments indicate that the main chlorosome pigment, bacteriochlorophyll-c, contributes to the photocurrent via an oxidative mechanism. The results reported herein are the first to demonstrate that isolated chlorosomes (lipid-enclosed sacs of pigments) directly transduce light energy in an electrochemical manner, laying an alternative, biomimetic approach for designing photosensitized interfaces in biofuel cells and biomedical devices, such as bioenhanced retinal prosthetics.