Search results for "PHOTOCHEMISTRY"
showing 10 items of 2034 documents
CHLOROPHYLL a AGGREGATES IN HYDROCARBON SOLUTION, A PICOSECOND SPECTROSCOPY AND MOLECULAR MODELING STUDY
1993
Chlorophyll a aggregates in 3-methylpentane solution have been studied by using picosecond absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy and molecular modeling. Chlorophyll a aggregates give rise to reversible temperature changes in the absorption and fluorescence spectra. Time-dependent anisotropies were used to estimate rotational correlation times of the aggregates. These were indicative of the sizes of the aggregates. The rotational diffusion of the monomer and the two identified aggregates was hydrodynamic over the viscosity range studied (0.29–1.8 cP). Molecular mechanics calculations were used to predict the minimum energy structures of several chlorophyll a dimers suggested earlier in th…
Folding in vitro of light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein is coupled with pigment binding.
2002
The major light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein (LHCIIb) of the plant photosynthetic apparatus is able to self-organise in vitro. When the recombinant apoprotein, Lhcb1, is solubilised in the denaturing detergent sodium (or lithium) dodecylsulfate (SDS or LDS) and then mixed with chlorophylls and carotenoids under renaturing conditions, structurally authentic LHCIIb forms. Assembly of functional LHCIIb, as indicated by the establishment of energy transfer between complex-bound chlorophyll molecules, occurs in two apparent kinetic steps with time constants of 10 to 30 seconds and 50 to 300 seconds, depending on the reaction conditions. Here, we use circular dichroism (CD) in the far-UV ra…
Organization of the pigment molecules in the chlorophyll a/c light-harvesting complex of Pleurochloris meiringensis (xanthophyceae). Characterization…
1997
Abstract By the aid of circular dichroism (CD), absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy, we studied the molecular organization of the pigment molecules in cells, isolated chloroplasts and the chlorophyll a / c light-harvesting complex (LHC) associated with photosystem II of the chlorphyll c -containing alga, Pleurochloris meiringensis . In cells and chloroplasts, similarly to higher plant chloroplasts, a (+) 693 nm CD band accompanied by a tail outside the absorbance indicated a long-range chiral organization of the chlorophyll molecules. The LHCII of these algae exhibited an intense negative CD band at 679 nm. However, in contrast to the chlorophyll a / b LHCII of higher plants, where the…
Purification and identification of chlorophyll c1 from the green alga Mantoniella squamata
1987
Abstract The prasinophycean alga Mantoniella squamata contains besides chlorophyll a and b a third chlorophyll c -like pigment in its light-harvesting antenna. This third chlorophyll was purified by reverse phase and polyethylene chromatography in order to identify its chemical structure. The absorption and fluorescence spectra were measured not only from the doubly purified pigment, but also from its Mg-free derivates. The spectra were compared with those of authentic chlorophyll c and of Mg-2,4-desethyl-2,4-divinylpheoporphyrin a 5 monomethyl ester which was isolated from Rhodobacter capsulata . The results show that the pigment from Mantoniella agrees best with chlorophyll c 1 . In order…
Effects of ozone on photosynthetic CO2 exchange, chlorophyll a fluorescence and antioxidant systems in lettuce leaves
2002
The effects of ozone exposure on lettuce leaves were investigated by means of gas exchange, modulated chlorophyll a fluorescence and antioxidants systems. High ozone concentration decreased the rate of photosynthesis at light saturation level and changes in stomatal conductance and transpiration rate. However, an increase in intercellular CO 2 concentration indicated a decrease in the carboxylation efficiency. These data agreed with a reduction of non-cyclic electron flow and lower capacity to reduce the quinone pool. Ozone affected the ascorbate pool and decreased ascorbate peroxidase activity, increased lipid peroxidation, altered membrane properties and reduced the development of non-pho…
Circular and linear dichroism of aggregates of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b in 3-methylpentane and paraffin oil.
1996
A circular (CD) and linear dichroism (LD) study of the water adducts of the green plant chlorophylls a (Chl a) and b (Chl b) in hydrocarbon solvents 3-methylpentane and paraffin oil is presented. A strong red shift of the Qy-absorption band from 663 to 746 nm (1678 cm−1) is observed as the water adduct of Chl a is formed. The Chl a-water adduct shows a strong, nonconservative CD signal, which is characterized by a positive peak at 748 nm and two negative peaks at 720 and 771 nm. The maximum CD (AL - AR) is only one order of magnitude smaller than the isotropic absorption maximum. We propose that this exceptionally strong signal is the so-called psi-type CD. The LD spectrum was measured in a…
Early Steps in the Assembly of Light-harvesting Chlorophyll a/b Complex
2004
The light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b complex (LHCIIb) spontaneously assembles from its pigment and protein components in detergent solution. The formation of functional LHCIIb can be detected in time-resolved experiments by monitoring the establishment of excitation energy transfer from protein-bound chlorophyll b to chlorophyll a. To detect the possible initial steps of chlorophyll binding that may not yet give rise to chlorophyll b-to-a energy transfer, we have monitored LHCIIb assembly by measuring excitation energy transfer from a fluorescent dye, covalently bound to the protein, to the chlorophylls. In order to exclude interference of the dye with protein folding or pigment binding, th…
Synthesis and Functional Reconstitution of Light-Harvesting Complex II into Polymeric Membrane Architectures.
2015
One of most important processes in nature is the harvesting and dissipation of solar energy with the help of light-harvesting complex II (LHCII). This protein, along with its associated pigments, is the main solar-energy collector in higher plants. We aimed to generate stable, highly controllable, and sustainable polymer-based membrane systems containing LHCII-pigment complexes ready for light harvesting. LHCII was produced by cell-free protein synthesis based on wheat-germ extract, and the successful integration of LHCII and its pigments into different membrane architectures was monitored. The unidirectionality of LHCII insertion was investigated by protease digestion assays. Fluorescence …
Chlorophyll b is involved in long-wavelength spectral properties of light-harvesting complexes LHC I and LHC II.
2001
AbstractChlorophyll (Chl) molecules attached to plant light-harvesting complexes (LHC) differ in their spectral behavior. While most Chl a and Chl b molecules give rise to absorption bands between 645 nm and 670 nm, some special Chls absorb at wavelengths longer than 700 nm. Among the Chl a/b-antennae of higher plants these are found exclusively in LHC I. In order to assign this special spectral property to one chlorophyll species we reconstituted LHC of both photosystem I (Lhca4) and photosystem II (Lhcb1) with carotenoids and only Chl a or Chl b and analyzed the effect on pigment binding, absorption and fluorescence properties. In both LHCs the Chl-binding sites of the omitted Chl species…
The energy distribution between the photosystems and light-induced changes in the stoichiometry of system I and II reaction centers in the chlorophyl…
1988
The chlorophyll b-containing alga Mantoniella squamata was analyzed with respect to its capacity to balance the energy distribution from the light-harvesting antenna to photosystem I or photosystem II. It was shown, that this alga is unable to alter the absorption cross section of the two photosystems in terms of short-time regulations (state transitions). The energy absorbed by the LHC, which contains 60% of total photosynthetic pigments, is transferred to both photosystems without any preference. The stoichiometry of the two photosystems is found to be extremely unequal and variable during light adaptation. In high light, the molar ratio of P-680 per P-700 is found to be two, whereas unde…