Light-Quality-Adapted Carotenoid Photoprotection in the Photosystem of Roseiflexus castenholzii

J Phys Chem Lett. 2024 Mar 28;15(12):3470-3477. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c00593. Epub 2024 Mar 21.

Abstract

The photosystem of filamentous anoxygenic phototroph Roseiflexus (Rfl.) castenholzii comprises a light-harvesting (LH) complex encircling a reaction center (RC), which intensely absorbs blue-green light by carotenoid (Car) and near-infrared light by bacteriochlorophyll (BChl). To explore the influence of light quality (color) on the photosynthetic activity, we compared the pigment compositions and triplet excitation dynamics of the LH-RCs from Rfl. castenholzii was adapted to blue-green light (bg-LH-RC) and to near-infrared light (nir-LH-RC). Both LH-RCs bind γ-carotene derivatives; however, compared to that of nir-LH-RC (12%), bg-LH-RC contains substantially higher keto-γ-carotene content (43%) and shows considerably faster BChl-to-Car triplet excitation transfer (10.9 ns vs 15.0 ns). For bg-LH-RC, but not nir-LH-RC, selective photoexcitation of Car and the 800 nm-absorbing BChl led to Car-to-Car triplet transfer and BChl-Car singlet fission reactions, respectively. The unique excitation dynamics of bg-LH-RC enhances its photoprotection, which is crucial for the survival of aquatic anoxygenic phototrophs from photooxidative stress.

MeSH terms

  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry
  • Bacteriochlorophylls / metabolism
  • Carotenoids
  • Chloroflexi* / chemistry
  • Chloroflexi* / metabolism
  • Light-Harvesting Protein Complexes / chemistry
  • Photosynthesis

Substances

  • Carotenoids
  • Light-Harvesting Protein Complexes
  • Bacteriochlorophylls
  • Bacterial Proteins

Supplementary concepts

  • Roseiflexus castenholzii