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Excitation energy transfer in the green photosynthetic bacterium Chloroflexus aurantiacus: A specific effect of 1-hexanol on the optical properties of baseplate and energy transfer processes

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Abstract

The effect of 1-hexanol on spectral properties and the processes of energy transfer of the green gliding photosynthetic bacterium Chloroflexus aurantiacus was investigated with reference to the baseplate region. On addition of 1-hexanol to a cell suspension in a concentration of one-fourth saturation, a specific change in the baseplate region was induced: that is, a bleach of the 793-nm component, and an increase in absorption of the 813-nm component. This result was also confirmed by fluorescence spectra of whole cells and isolated chlorosomes. The processes of energy transfer were affected in the overall transfer efficiency but not kinetically, indicating that 1-hexanol suppressed the flux of energy flow from the baseplate to the B806-866 complexes in the cytoplasmic membranes. The fluorescence excitation spectrum suggests a specific site of interaction between bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) c with a maximum at 771 nm in the rod elements and BChl a with a maximum at 793 nm in the baseplate, which is a funnel for a fast transfer of energy to the B806-866 complexes in the membranes. The absorption spectrum of chlorosomes was resolved to components consistently on the basis, including circular dichroism and magnetic circular dichroism spectra; besides two major BChl c forms, bands corresponding to tetramer, dimer, and monomer were also discernible, which are supposed to be intermediary components for a higher order structure. A tentative model for the antenna system of C. aurantiacus is proposed.

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Abbreviations

A670:

a component whose absorption maximum is located at 670 nm

(B)Chl:

(bacterio)chlorophyll

CD:

circular dichroism

F675:

a component whose emission maximum is located at 675 nm

FMO protein:

Fenna-Mathews-Olson protein

LD:

linear dichroism

LH:

light-harvesting

McD:

magnetic circular dichroism

PS:

photosystem

RC:

reaction center

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute for Basic Biology, Myodaiji, 444, Okazaki, Japan

    Mamoru Mimuro

  2. Department of Chemical Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, 060, Sapporo, Japan

    Yoshinobu Nishimura & Iwao Yamazaki

  3. Department of Biochemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tohoku University, 970, Sendai, Japan

    Masayuki Kobayashi, Zheng Yu Wang & Tsunenori Nozawa

  4. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 192-03, Hachioji, Japan

    Keizo Shimada & Katsumi Matsuura

Authors
  1. Mamoru Mimuro
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  2. Yoshinobu Nishimura
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  3. Iwao Yamazaki
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  4. Masayuki Kobayashi
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  5. Zheng Yu Wang
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  6. Tsunenori Nozawa
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  7. Keizo Shimada
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  8. Katsumi Matsuura
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Mimuro, M., Nishimura, Y., Yamazaki, I. et al. Excitation energy transfer in the green photosynthetic bacterium Chloroflexus aurantiacus: A specific effect of 1-hexanol on the optical properties of baseplate and energy transfer processes. Photosynth Res 48, 263–270 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00041017

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00041017

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