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Direct Energy Transfer from the Peripheral LH2 Antenna to the Reaction Center in a Mutant of Rhodobacter sphaeroides That Lacks the Core LH1 Antenna

Hess, S. LU ; Visscher, K. ; Ulander, J. ; Pullerits, T. LU ; Jones, M. R. ; Hunter, C. N. and Sundström, V. LU (1993) In Biochemistry 32(39). p.10314-10322
Abstract

The light-harvesting apparatus of the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides is composed of a peripheral LH2 complex which directs excitation energy to the LH1/reaction center core. The puf BA genes encoding the LH1 polypeptides have been deleted, producing a photosynthetically-competent strain which contains LH2 and reaction centers. Time-resolved absorption and fluorescence measurements demonstrate that energy is efficiently transferred from LH2 to the reaction center, despite the absence of LH1. Energy trapping takes place in 55 ± 5 ps at room temperature, compared to the result for the wild-type strain of 60 ± 5 ps. At 77 K, the results for the mutant and wild type are 75 ± 5 and approximately 35 ps, respectively; the... (More)

The light-harvesting apparatus of the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides is composed of a peripheral LH2 complex which directs excitation energy to the LH1/reaction center core. The puf BA genes encoding the LH1 polypeptides have been deleted, producing a photosynthetically-competent strain which contains LH2 and reaction centers. Time-resolved absorption and fluorescence measurements demonstrate that energy is efficiently transferred from LH2 to the reaction center, despite the absence of LH1. Energy trapping takes place in 55 ± 5 ps at room temperature, compared to the result for the wild-type strain of 60 ± 5 ps. At 77 K, the results for the mutant and wild type are 75 ± 5 and approximately 35 ps, respectively; the slower time in the mutant is attributed to the small differences in antenna/reaction center contacts and relative distances that are bound to exist as a consequence of LH1 and LH2 being assembled from different α-and β-polypeptides. Measurements with closed reaction centers provided new information on the nature of fast energy transfer within the B850 pigments of LH2. We conclude that the absorption band is inhomogeneously broadened, and the fast (∼ 10 ps) lifetime observed in the 847–857-nm region is interpreted as very rapid (1–5 ps) hopping of the excitation energy from high-energy to low-energy pigments within the B850 absorption band. Time-resolved anisotropy studies demonstrate that energy-transfer events within B850 occur on a subpicosecond to picosecond time scale. In respect of internal energy transfer, LH2 therefore behaves similarly to other light-harvesting antennas, and in a wider sense, LH2 can substitute efficiently for LH1 in delivering excitations to the reaction center. This implies some similarity in the three-dimensional arrangement of LH1 and LH2, and notwithstanding this a relatively nonspecific protein-protein interaction between the antenna and the reaction center.

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author
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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Biochemistry
volume
32
issue
39
pages
9 pages
publisher
The American Chemical Society (ACS)
external identifiers
  • pmid:8399174
  • scopus:0027486701
ISSN
0006-2960
DOI
10.1021/bi00090a006
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
16e63750-b8aa-4f4a-83ce-12f59469ae5d
date added to LUP
2025-10-28 17:08:48
date last changed
2025-10-30 15:56:42
@article{16e63750-b8aa-4f4a-83ce-12f59469ae5d,
  abstract     = {{<p>The light-harvesting apparatus of the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides is composed of a peripheral LH2 complex which directs excitation energy to the LH1/reaction center core. The puf BA genes encoding the LH1 polypeptides have been deleted, producing a photosynthetically-competent strain which contains LH2 and reaction centers. Time-resolved absorption and fluorescence measurements demonstrate that energy is efficiently transferred from LH2 to the reaction center, despite the absence of LH1. Energy trapping takes place in 55 ± 5 ps at room temperature, compared to the result for the wild-type strain of 60 ± 5 ps. At 77 K, the results for the mutant and wild type are 75 ± 5 and approximately 35 ps, respectively; the slower time in the mutant is attributed to the small differences in antenna/reaction center contacts and relative distances that are bound to exist as a consequence of LH1 and LH2 being assembled from different α-and β-polypeptides. Measurements with closed reaction centers provided new information on the nature of fast energy transfer within the B850 pigments of LH2. We conclude that the absorption band is inhomogeneously broadened, and the fast (∼ 10 ps) lifetime observed in the 847–857-nm region is interpreted as very rapid (1–5 ps) hopping of the excitation energy from high-energy to low-energy pigments within the B850 absorption band. Time-resolved anisotropy studies demonstrate that energy-transfer events within B850 occur on a subpicosecond to picosecond time scale. In respect of internal energy transfer, LH2 therefore behaves similarly to other light-harvesting antennas, and in a wider sense, LH2 can substitute efficiently for LH1 in delivering excitations to the reaction center. This implies some similarity in the three-dimensional arrangement of LH1 and LH2, and notwithstanding this a relatively nonspecific protein-protein interaction between the antenna and the reaction center.</p>}},
  author       = {{Hess, S. and Visscher, K. and Ulander, J. and Pullerits, T. and Jones, M. R. and Hunter, C. N. and Sundström, V.}},
  issn         = {{0006-2960}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{39}},
  pages        = {{10314--10322}},
  publisher    = {{The American Chemical Society (ACS)}},
  series       = {{Biochemistry}},
  title        = {{Direct Energy Transfer from the Peripheral LH2 Antenna to the Reaction Center in a Mutant of <i>Rhodobacter sphaeroides</i> That Lacks the Core LH1 Antenna}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/bi00090a006}},
  doi          = {{10.1021/bi00090a006}},
  volume       = {{32}},
  year         = {{1993}},
}