Oxygen-evolving photosystem II structures during S1-S2-S3 transitions.

Photosystem II (PSII) catalyses the oxidation of water through a four-step cycle of Si states (i = 0-4) at the Mn4CaO5 cluster1-3, during which an extra oxygen (O6) is incorporated at the S3 state to form a possible dioxygen4-7. Structural changes of the metal cluster and its environment during the S-state transitions have been studied on the microsecond timescale. Here we use pump-probe serial femtosecond crystallography to reveal the structural dynamics of PSII from nanoseconds to milliseconds after illumination with one flash (1F) or two flashes (2F). YZ, a tyrosine residue that connects the reaction centre P680 and the Mn4CaO5 cluster, showed structural changes on a nanosecond timescale, as did its surrounding amino acid residues and water molecules, reflecting the fast transfer of electrons and protons after flash illumination. Notably, one water molecule emerged in the vicinity of Glu189 of the D1 subunit of PSII (D1-E189), and was bound to the Ca2+ ion on a sub-microsecond timescale after 2F illumination. This water molecule disappeared later with the concomitant increase of O6, suggesting that it is the origin of O6. We also observed concerted movements of water molecules in the O1, O4 and Cl-1 channels and their surrounding amino acid residues to complete the sequence of electron transfer, proton release and substrate water delivery. These results provide crucial insights into the structural dynamics of PSII during S-state transitions as well as O-O bond formation.

Structures and organizations of PSI-AcpPCI supercomplexes from red tidal and coral symbiotic photosynthetic dinoflagellates.

Marine photosynthetic dinoflagellates are a group of successful phytoplankton that can form red tides in the ocean and also symbiosis with corals. These features are closely related to the photosynthetic properties of dinoflagellates. We report here three structures of photosystem I (PSI)-chlorophylls (Chls) a/c-peridinin protein complex (PSI-AcpPCI) from two species of dinoflagellates by single-particle cryoelectron microscopy. The crucial PsaA/B subunits of a red tidal dinoflagellate Amphidinium carterae are remarkably smaller and hence losing over 20 pigment-binding sites, whereas its PsaD/F/I/J/L/M/R subunits are larger and coordinate some additional pigment sites compared to other eukaryotic photosynthetic organisms, which may compensate for the smaller PsaA/B subunits. Similar modifications are observed in a coral symbiotic dinoflagellate Symbiodinium species, where two additional core proteins and fewer AcpPCIs are identified in the PSI-AcpPCI supercomplex. The antenna proteins AcpPCIs in dinoflagellates developed some loops and pigment sites as a result to accommodate the changed PSI core, therefore the structures of PSI-AcpPCI supercomplex of dinoflagellates reveal an unusual protein assembly pattern. A huge pigment network comprising Chls a and c and various carotenoids is revealed from the structural analysis, which provides the basis for our deeper understanding of the energy transfer and dissipation within the PSI-AcpPCI supercomplex, as well as the evolution of photosynthetic organisms.

New insights on the photocomplex of Roseiflexus castenholzii revealed from comparisons of native and carotenoid-depleted complexes.

In wild-type phototrophic organisms, carotenoids (Crts) are primarily packed into specific pigment-protein complexes along with (Bacterio)chlorophylls and play important roles in the photosynthesis. Diphenylamine (DPA) inhibits carotenogenesis but not phototrophic growth of anoxygenic phototrophs and eliminates virtually all Crts from photocomplexes. To investigate the effect of Crts on assembly of the reaction center-light-harvesting (RC-LH) complex from the filamentous anoxygenic phototroph Roseiflexus (Rfl.) castenholzii, we generated carotenoidless (Crt-less) RC-LH complexes by growing cells in the presence of DPA. Here, we present cryo-EM structures of the Rfl. castenholzii native and Crt-less RC-LH complexes with resolutions of 2.86 Å and 2.85 Å, respectively. From the high-quality map obtained, several important but previously unresolved details in the Rfl. castenholzii RC-LH structure were determined unambiguously including the assignment and likely function of three small polypeptides, and the content and spatial arrangement of Crts with bacteriochlorophyll molecules. The overall structures of Crt-containing and Crt-less complexes are similar. However, structural comparisons showed that only five Crts remain in complexes from DPA-treated cells and that the subunit X (TMx) flanked on the N-terminal helix of the Cyt-subunit is missing. Based on these results, the function of Crts in the assembly of the Rfl. castenholzii RC-LH complex and the molecular mechanism of quinone exchange is discussed. These structural details provide a fresh look at the photosynthetic apparatus of an evolutionary ancient phototroph as well as new insights into the importance of Crts for proper assembly and functioning of the RC-LH complex.

Structure of photosynthetic LH1-RC supercomplex at 1.9 Å resolution.

Light-harvesting complex 1 (LH1) and the reaction centre (RC) form a membrane-protein supercomplex that performs the primary reactions of photosynthesis in purple photosynthetic bacteria. The structure of the LH1-RC complex can provide information on the arrangement of protein subunits and cofactors; however, so far it has been resolved only at a relatively low resolution. Here we report the crystal structure of the calcium-ion-bound LH1-RC supercomplex of Thermochromatium tepidum at a resolution of 1.9 Å. This atomic-resolution structure revealed several new features about the organization of protein subunits and cofactors. We describe the loop regions of RC in their intact states, the interaction of these loop regions with the LH1 subunits, the exchange route for the bound quinone QB with free quinone molecules, the transport of free quinones between the inside and outside of the LH1 ring structure, and the detailed calcium-ion-binding environment. This structure provides a solid basis for the detailed examination of the light reactions that occur during bacterial photosynthesis.

Structural insights into the unusual core photocomplex from a triply extremophilic purple bacterium, Halorhodospira halochloris.

Halorhodospira (Hlr.) halochloris is a triply extremophilic phototrophic purple sulfur bacterium, as it is thermophilic, alkaliphilic, and extremely halophilic. The light-harvesting-reaction center (LH1-RC) core complex of this bacterium displays an LH1-Qy transition at 1,016 nm, which is the lowest-energy wavelength absorption among all known phototrophs. Here we report the cryo-EM structure of the LH1-RC at 2.42 Å resolution. The LH1 complex forms a tricyclic ring structure composed of 16 αßγ-polypeptides and one αß-heterodimer around the RC. From the cryo-EM density map, two previously unrecognized integral membrane proteins, referred to as protein G and protein Q, were identified. Both of these proteins are single transmembrane-spanning helices located between the LH1 ring and the RC L-subunit and are absent from the LH1-RC complexes of all other purple bacteria of which the structures have been determined so far. Besides bacteriochlorophyll b molecules (B1020) located on the periplasmic side of the Hlr. halochloris membrane, there are also two arrays of bacteriochlorophyll b molecules (B800 and B820) located on the cytoplasmic side. Only a single copy of a carotenoid (lycopene) was resolved in the Hlr. halochloris LH1-α3ß3 and this was positioned within the complex. The potential quinone channel should be the space between the LH1-α3ß3 that accommodates the single lycopene but does not contain a γ-polypeptide, B800 and B820. Our results provide a structural explanation for the unusual Qy red shift and carotenoid absorption in the Hlr. halochloris spectrum and reveal new insights into photosynthetic mechanisms employed by a species that thrives under the harshest conditions of any phototrophic microorganism known.

A Ca2+-binding motif underlies the unusual properties of certain photosynthetic bacterial core light-harvesting complexes.

The mildly thermophilic purple phototrophic bacterium Allochromatium tepidum provides a unique model for investigating various intermediate phenotypes observed between those of thermophilic and mesophilic counterparts. The core light-harvesting (LH1) complex from A. tepidum exhibits an absorption maximum at 890 nm and mildly enhanced thermostability, both of which are Ca2+-dependent. However, it is unknown what structural determinants might contribute to these properties. Here, we present a cryo-EM structure of the reaction center-associated LH1 complex at 2.81 Å resolution, in which we identify multiple pigment-binding α- and ß-polypeptides within an LH1 ring. Of the 16 α-polypeptides, we show that six (α1) bind Ca2+ along with ß1- or ß3-polypeptides to form the Ca2+-binding sites. This structure differs from that of fully Ca2+-bound LH1 from Thermochromatium tepidum, enabling determination of the minimum structural requirements for Ca2+-binding. We also identified three amino acids (Trp44, Asp47, and Ile49) in the C-terminal region of the A. tepidum α1-polypeptide that ligate each Ca ion, forming a Ca2+-binding WxxDxI motif that is conserved in all Ca2+-bound LH1 α-polypeptides from other species with reported structures. The partial Ca2+-bound structure further explains the unusual phenotypic properties observed for this bacterium in terms of its Ca2+-requirements for thermostability, spectroscopy, and phototrophic growth, and supports the hypothesis that A. tepidum may represent a "transitional" species between mesophilic and thermophilic purple sulfur bacteria. The characteristic arrangement of multiple αß-polypeptides also suggests a mechanism of molecular recognition in the expression and/or assembly of the LH1 complex that could be regulated through interactions with reaction center subunits.

Light-induced structural changes and the site of O=O bond formation in PSII caught by XFEL.

Photosystem II (PSII) is a huge membrane-protein complex consisting of 20 different subunits with a total molecular mass of 350 kDa for a monomer. It catalyses light-driven water oxidation at its catalytic centre, the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC). The structure of PSII has been analysed at 1.9 Å resolution by synchrotron radiation X-rays, which revealed that the OEC is a Mn4CaO5 cluster organized in an asymmetric, 'distorted-chair' form. This structure was further analysed with femtosecond X-ray free electron lasers (XFEL), providing the 'radiation damage-free' structure. The mechanism of O=O bond formation, however, remains obscure owing to the lack of intermediate-state structures. Here we describe the structural changes in PSII induced by two-flash illumination at room temperature at a resolution of 2.35 Å using time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography with an XFEL provided by the SPring-8 ångström compact free-electron laser. An isomorphous difference Fourier map between the two-flash and dark-adapted states revealed two areas of apparent changes: around the QB/non-haem iron and the Mn4CaO5 cluster. The changes around the QB/non-haem iron region reflected the electron and proton transfers induced by the two-flash illumination. In the region around the OEC, a water molecule located 3.5 Å from the Mn4CaO5 cluster disappeared from the map upon two-flash illumination. This reduced the distance between another water molecule and the oxygen atom O4, suggesting that proton transfer also occurred. Importantly, the two-flash-minus-dark isomorphous difference Fourier map showed an apparent positive peak around O5, a unique µ4-oxo-bridge located in the quasi-centre of Mn1 and Mn4 (refs 4,5). This suggests the insertion of a new oxygen atom (O6) close to O5, providing an O=O distance of 1.5 Å between these two oxygen atoms. This provides a mechanism for the O=O bond formation consistent with that proposed previously.

Dynamics of diverse coherences in primary charge separation of bacterial reaction center at 77 K revealed by wavelet analysis.

To uncover the mechanism behind the high photo-electronic conversion efficiency in natural photosynthetic complexes it is essential to trace the dynamics of electronic and vibrational quantum coherences. Here we apply wavelet analysis to two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy data for three purple bacterial reaction centers with mutations that produce drastically different rates of primary charge separation. From the frequency distribution and dynamic evolution features of the quantum beating, electronic coherence with a dephasing lifetime of ~50 fs, vibronic coherence with a lifetime of ~150 fs and vibrational/vibronic coherences with a lifetime of 450 fs are distinguished. We find that they are responsible for, or couple to, different specific steps during the primary charge separation process, i.e., intradimer charge transfer inside the special bacteriochlorophyll pair followed by its relaxation and stabilization of the charge-transfer state. The results enlighten our understanding of how quantum coherences participate in, and contribute to, a biological electron transfer reaction.

The critical function of the plastid rRNA methyltransferase, CMAL, in ribosome biogenesis and plant development.

Methylation of nucleotides in ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs) is a ubiquitous feature that occurs in all living organisms. The formation of methylated nucleotides is performed by a variety of RNA-methyltransferases. Chloroplasts of plant cells result from an endosymbiotic event and possess their own genome and ribosomes. However, enzymes responsible for rRNA methylation and the function of modified nucleotides in chloroplasts remain to be determined. Here, we identified an rRNA methyltransferase, CMAL (Chloroplast MraW-Like), in the Arabidopsis chloroplast and investigated its function. CMAL is the Arabidopsis ortholog of bacterial MraW/ RsmH proteins and accounts to the N4-methylation of C1352 in chloroplast 16S rRNA, indicating that CMAL orthologs and this methyl-modification nucleotide is conserved between bacteria and the endosymbiont-derived eukaryotic organelle. The knockout of CMAL in Arabidopsis impairs the chloroplast ribosome accumulation and accordingly reduced the efficiency of mRNA translation. Interestingly, the loss of CMAL leads not only to defects in chloroplast function, but also to abnormal leaf and root development and overall plant morphology. Further investigation showed that CMAL is involved in the plant development probably by modulating auxin derived signaling pathways. This study uncovered the important role of 16S rRNA methylation mediated by CMAL in chloroplast ribosome biogenesis and plant development.

Cryo-EM Structure of the Photosynthetic LH1-RC Complex from Rhodospirillum rubrum.

Rhodospirillum (Rsp.) rubrum is one of the most widely used model organisms in bacterial photosynthesis. This purple phototroph is characterized by the presence of both rhodoquinone (RQ) and ubiquinone as electron carriers and bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) a esterified at the propionic acid side chain by geranylgeraniol (BChl aG) instead of phytol. Despite intensive efforts, the structure of the light-harvesting-reaction center (LH1-RC) core complex from Rsp. rubrum remains at low resolutions. Using cryo-EM, here we present a robust new view of the Rsp. rubrum LH1-RC at 2.76 Å resolution. The LH1 complex forms a closed, slightly elliptical ring structure with 16 αß-polypeptides surrounding the RC. Our biochemical analysis detected RQ molecules in the purified LH1-RC, and the cryo-EM density map specifically positions RQ at the QA site in the RC. The geranylgeraniol side chains of BChl aG coordinated by LH1 ß-polypeptides exhibit a highly homologous tail-up conformation that allows for interactions with the bacteriochlorin rings of nearby LH1 α-associated BChls aG. The structure also revealed key protein-protein interactions in both N- and C-terminal regions of the LH1 αß-polypeptides, mainly within a face-to-face structural subunit. Our high-resolution Rsp. rubrum LH1-RC structure provides new insight for evaluating past experimental and computational results obtained with this old organism over many decades and lays the foundation for more detailed exploration of light-energy conversion, quinone transport, and structure-function relationships in this pigment-protein complex.

Structure of plant photosystem I-light harvesting complex I supercomplex at 2.4 Å resolution.

Photosystem I (PSI) is one of the two photosystems in photosynthesis, and performs a series of electron transfer reactions leading to the reduction of ferredoxin. In higher plants, PSI is surrounded by four light-harvesting complex I (LHCI) subunits, which harvest and transfer energy efficiently to the PSI core. The crystal structure of PSI-LHCI supercomplex has been analyzed up to 2.6 Å resolution, providing much information on the arrangement of proteins and cofactors in this complicated supercomplex. Here we have optimized crystallization conditions, and analyzed the crystal structure of PSI-LHCI at 2.4 Å resolution. Our structure showed some shift of the LHCI, especially the Lhca4 subunit, away from the PSI core, suggesting the indirect connection and inefficiency of energy transfer from this Lhca subunit to the PSI core. We identified five new lipids in the structure, most of them are located in the gap region between the Lhca subunits and the PSI core. These lipid molecules may play important roles in binding of the Lhca subunits to the core, as well as in the assembly of the supercomplex. The present results thus provide novel information for the elucidation of the mechanisms for the light-energy harvesting, transfer and assembly of this supercomplex.

Structure of the LH1-RC complex from Thermochromatium tepidum at 3.0 Å.

The light-harvesting core antenna (LH1) and the reaction centre (RC) of purple photosynthetic bacteria form a supramolecular complex (LH1-RC) to use sunlight energy in a highly efficient manner. Here we report the first near-atomic structure, to our knowledge, of a LH1-RC complex, namely that of a Ca(2+)-bound complex from Thermochromatium tepidum, which reveals detailed information on the arrangement and interactions of the protein subunits and the cofactors. The RC is surrounded by 16 heterodimers of the LH1 αß-subunit that form a completely closed structure. The Ca(2+) ions are located at the periplasmic side of LH1. Thirty-two bacteriochlorophyll and 16 spirilloxanthin molecules in the LH1 ring form an elliptical assembly. The geometries of the pigment assembly involved in the absorption characteristics of the bacteriochlorophyll in LH1 and excitation energy transfer among the pigments are reported. In addition, possible ubiquinone channels in the closed LH1 complex are proposed based on the atomic structure.

Probing structure-function relationships in early events in photosynthesis using a chimeric photocomplex.

The native core light-harvesting complex (LH1) from the thermophilic purple phototrophic bacterium Thermochromatium tepidum requires Ca2+ for its thermal stability and characteristic absorption maximum at 915 nm. To explore the role of specific amino acid residues of the LH1 polypeptides in Ca-binding behavior, we constructed a genetic system for heterologously expressing the Tch. tepidum LH1 complex in an engineered Rhodobacter sphaeroides mutant strain. This system contained a chimeric pufBALM gene cluster (pufBA from Tch. tepidum and pufLM from Rba. sphaeroides) and was subsequently deployed for introducing site-directed mutations on the LH1 polypeptides. All mutant strains were capable of phototrophic (anoxic/light) growth. The heterologously expressed Tch. tepidum wild-type LH1 complex was isolated in a reaction center (RC)-associated form and displayed the characteristic absorption properties of this thermophilic phototroph. Spheroidene (the major carotenoid in Rba. sphaeroides) was incorporated into the Tch. tepidum LH1 complex in place of its native spirilloxanthins with one carotenoid molecule present per αß-subunit. The hybrid LH1-RC complexes expressed in Rba. sphaeroides were characterized using absorption, fluorescence excitation, and resonance Raman spectroscopy. Site-specific mutagenesis combined with spectroscopic measurements revealed that α-D49, ß-L46, and a deletion at position 43 of the α-polypeptide play critical roles in Ca binding in the Tch. tepidum LH1 complex; in contrast, α-N50 does not participate in Ca2+ coordination. These findings build on recent structural data obtained from a high-resolution crystallographic structure of the membrane integrated Tch. tepidum LH1-RC complex and have unambiguously identified the location of Ca2+ within this key antenna complex.

Properties and structure of a low-potential, penta-heme cytochrome c552 from a thermophilic purple sulfur photosynthetic bacterium Thermochromatium tepidum.

The thermophilic purple sulfur bacterium Thermochromatium tepidum possesses four main water-soluble redox proteins involved in the electron transfer behavior. Crystal structures have been reported for three of them: a high potential iron-sulfur protein, cytochrome c', and one of two low-potential cytochrome c552 (which is a flavocytochrome c) have been determined. In this study, we purified another low-potential cytochrome c552 (LPC), determined its N-terminal amino acid sequence and the whole gene sequence, characterized it with absorption and electron paramagnetic spectroscopy, and solved its high-resolution crystal structure. This novel cytochrome was found to contain five c-type hemes. The overall fold of LPC consists of two distinct domains, one is the five heme-containing domain and the other one is an Ig-like domain. This provides a representative example for the structures of multiheme cytochromes containing an odd number of hemes, although the structures of multiheme cytochromes with an even number of hemes are frequently seen in the PDB database. Comparison of the sequence and structure of LPC with other proteins in the databases revealed several characteristic features which may be important for its functioning. Based on the results obtained, we discuss the possible intracellular function of this LPC in Tch. tepidum.

C-terminal cleavage of the LH1 α-polypeptide in the Sr2+-cultured Thermochromatium tepidum.

The light-harvesting 1 reaction center (LH1-RC) complex in the thermophilic purple sulfur bacterium Thermochromatium (Tch.) tepidum binds Ca ions as cofactors, and Ca-binding is largely involved in its characteristic Q y absorption at 915 nm and enhanced thermostability. Ca2+ can be biosynthetically replaced by Sr2+ in growing cultures of Tch. tepidum. However, the resulting Sr2+-substituted LH1-RC complexes in such cells do not display the absorption maximum and thermostability of those from Ca2+-grown cells, signaling that inherent structural differences exist in the LH1 complexes between the Ca2+- and Sr2+-cultured cells. In this study, we examined the effects of the biosynthetic Sr2+-substitution and limited proteolysis on the spectral properties and thermostability of the Tch. tepidum LH1-RC complex. Preferential truncation of two consecutive, positively charged Lys residues at the C-terminus of the LH1 α-polypeptide was observed for the Sr2+-cultured cells. A proportion of the truncated LH1 α-polypeptide increased during repeated subculturing in the Sr2+-substituted medium. This result suggests that the truncation is a biochemical adaptation to reduce the electrostatic interactions and/or steric repulsion at the C-terminus when Sr2+ substitutes for Ca2+ in the LH1 complex. Limited proteolysis of the native Ca2+-LH1 complex with lysyl protease revealed selective truncations at the Lys residues in both C- and N-terminal extensions of the α- and ß-polypeptides. The spectral properties and thermostability of the partially digested native LH1-RC complexes were similar to those of the biosynthetically Sr2+-substituted LH1-RC complexes in their Ca2+-bound forms. Based on these findings, we propose that the C-terminal domain of the LH1 α-polypeptide plays important roles in retaining proper structure and function of the LH1-RC complex in Tch. tepidum.

Temperature dependent LH1→RC energy transfer in purple bacteria Tch. tepidum with shiftable LH1-Qy band: A natural system to investigate thermally activated energy transfer in photosynthesis.

The native LH1-RC complex of the purple bacterium Thermochromatium (Tch.) tepidum has an ultra-red LH1-Qy absorption at 915nm, which can shift to 893 and 882nm by means of chemical modifications. These unique complexes are a good natural system to investigate the thermally activated energy transfer process, with the donor energies different while the other factors (such as the acceptor energy, special pair at 890nm, and the distance/relative orientation between the donor and acceptor) remain the same. The native B915-RC, B893-RC and B882-RC complexes, as well as the LH1-RC complex of Rhodobacter (Rba.) sphaeroides were studied by temperature-dependent time-resolved absorption spectroscopy. The energy transfer time constants, kET(-1), are 65, 45, 46 and 45ps at room temperature while 225, 58, 85, 33ps at 77K for the B915-RC, B893-RC, B882-RC and Rba. sphaeroides LH1-RC, respectively. The dependences of kET on temperature have different trends. The reorganization energies are determined to be 70, 290, 200 and 45cm(-1), respectively, by fitting kET vs temperature using Marcus equation. The activation energies are 200, 60, 115 and 20cm(-1), respectively. The influences of the structure (the arrangement of the 32 BChl a molecules) on kET are discussed based on these results, to reveal how the B915-RC complex accomplishes its energy transfer function with a large uphill energy of 290cm(-1).

Direct Observation of Energy Detrapping in LH1-RC Complex by Two-Dimensional Electronic Spectroscopy.

The purple bacterial core light harvesting antenna-reaction center (LH1-RC) complex is the simplest system able to achieve the entire primary function of photosynthesis. During the past decade, a variety of photosynthetic proteins were studied by a powerful technique, two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2DES). However, little attention has been paid to LH1-RC, although its reversible uphill energy transfer, trapping, and backward detrapping processes, represent a crucial step in the early photosynthetic reaction dynamics. Thus, in this work, we employed 2DES to study two LH1-RC complexes of Thermochromatium (Tch.) tepidum. By direct observation of detrapping, the complex reversible process was clearly identified and an overall scheme of the excitation evolution in LH1-RC was obtained.

Carotenoid Singlet Fission Reactions in Bacterial Light Harvesting Complexes As Revealed by Triplet Excitation Profiles.

Carotenoids (Cars) in bacterial photosynthesis are known as accessory light harvesters and photoprotectors. Recently, the singlet fission (SF) reaction initiated by Car photoabsorption has been recognized to be an effective excitation deactivation channel disfavoring the light harvesting function. Since the SF reaction and the triplet sensitization reaction underlying photoprotection both yield triplet excited state Cars (3Car*), their contribution to the overall 3Car* photoproduction are difficult to disentangle. To tackle this problem, we resorted to the triplet excitation profiles (TEPs), i.e., the actinic spectra of the overall 3Car* photoproduction. The TEPs combined with the conventional fluorescence excitation spectra allowed us to extract the neat SF contribution, which can serve as a spectroscopic measure for the SF reactivity. This novel spectroscopic strategy was applied to analyze the light harvesting complexes (LHs) from Tch. tepidum and Rba. sphaeroides 2.4.1. The results unambiguously showed that the SF reaction of Cars proceeds with an intramolecular scheme, even in the case of LH1-RC from Rba. sphaeroides 2.4.1 likely binding a secondary pool of Cars. Regarding the SF-reactivity, the geometric distortion in the conjugated backbone of Cars was shown to be the structural determinant, while the length of the Car conjugation was suggested to be relevant to the effective localization of the geminate triplets to avoid being annihilated. The SF reaction scheme and structure-activity relationship revealed herein will be useful not only in deepening our understanding of the roles of Cars in photosynthesis, but also in enlightening the applications of Cars in artificial light conversion systems.

Metal Cations Induced αß-BChl a Heterogeneity in LH1 as Revealed by Temperature-Dependent Fluorescence Splitting.

Two spectral forms of the core light-harvesting complex (LH1) of the purple bacterium Thermochromatium (Tch.) tepidum, the native Ca2+ -binding and the Ba2+ -substituted one, exhibit different fluorescence (FL) emission spectra at low temperature (T). While Ca-LH1 exhibits one emission band, an unusual splitting of the fluorescence is observed for Ba-LH1. These two sub-bands display the same spectral-width dependence according to T, but their intensity evolves differently with T. Based on the crystal structures, we propose that the FL splitting originates from a large αß-BChl a transition energy heterogeneity, ≈600 cm-1 , which is much larger compared with other LH1 and LH2 complexes (80-200 cm-1 ). This large heterogeneity is induced by the inhomogeneous Coulomb (and possibly hydrogen-bonding) interactions exerted by Ba2+ . The energy levels of the two LH1s were compared using exciton calculations in combination with Redfield theory. To simulate the FL splitting, an electronic transition containing two resonant bands was considered. This work shows how metal cations incorporated into the polypeptide modulate the electronic properties of BChl a aggregates.

Dependence of the hydration status of bacterial light-harvesting complex 2 on polyol cosolvents.

Low molecular weight (MW) polyols are organic osmolytes influencing protein structure and activity. We have intended to investigate the effects of low MW polyols on the optical and the excited-state properties of the light-harvesting complex 2 (LH2) isolated from the photosynthetic bacterium Thermochromatium (Tch.) tepidum, a thermophile growing at ∼50 °C. Steady state spectroscopy demonstrated that, on increasing glycerol or sorbitol fractions up to 60% (polyol/water, v/v), the visible absorption of carotenoids (Crts) remained unchanged, while the near infrared Qy absorption of bacteriochlorophyll a (BChl) at 800 nm (B800) and 850 nm (B850) varied slightly. Further increasing the fraction of glycerol (but not sorbitol) to 80% (v/v) induced distinct changes of the near infrared absorption and fluorescence spectra. Transient absorption spectroscopy revealed that, following the fast processes of BChl-to-Crt triplet energy transfer, rather weak Qy signals of B800 and B850 remained and evolved in phase with the kinetics of triplet excited state Crt (3Crt*), which are attributed to the Qy band shift as a result of 3Crt*-BChl interaction. The steady state and the transient spectral responses of the Qy bands are found to correlate intimately with the water activity varying against polyol MW and mixing ratio, which are rationalized by the change of the hydration status of the C- and N-termini of LH2. Our results suggest that, with reference to the mesophilic purple bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1, Tch. tepidum adopts substantially more robust LH2 hydration against the osmotic effects from the low MW polyols.