Qy-excitation resonance Raman (RR) spectra are reported for two mutant reaction centers (RCs) from Rhodobacter capsulatus in which the photoactive bacteriopheophytin (BPhL) is replaced by a bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) molecule, designated beta. The pigment change in both mutants is induced via introduction of a histidine residue near the photoactive cofactor. In one mutant, L(M212)H, the histidine is positioned over the core of the cofactor and serves as an axial ligand to the Mg+2 ion. In the other mutant, F(L121)H/F(L97)V, the histidine is positioned over ring V of the cofactor, which is nominally too distant to permit bonding to the Mg+2 ion. The salient observations are as follows: (1) The beta cofactor in F(L121)H/F(L97)V RCs is a five-coordinate BChl molecule. However, there is no evidence for the formation of a Mg-His bond. This bond is either much weaker than in the L(M212)H RCs or completely absent, the latter implying coordination by an alternative ligand. The different axial ligation for beta in the F(L121)H/F(L97)V versus L(M212)H RCs in turn leads to different conformations of the BChl macrocycles. (2) The C9-keto group of beta in F(L121)H/F(L97)V RCs is free of hydrogen bonding interactions, unlike the L(M212)H RCs in which the C9-keto of beta is hydrogen bonded to Glu L104. The interactions between other peripheral substituents of beta and the protein are also different in the F(L121)H/F(L97)V RCs versus L(M212)H RCs. Accordingly, the position and orientation of beta in the protein is different in the two beta-containing RCs. Nonetheless, previous studies have shown that the primary electron transfer reactions are very similar in the two mutants but differ in significant respects compared to wild-type RCs. Collectively, these observations indicate that changes in the conformation of a photoactive tetrapyrrole macrocycle or its interactions with the protein do not necessarily lead to significantly perturbed photochemistry and do not underlie the altered primary events in beta-type RCs.