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Modeling Light Harvesting and Primary Charge Separation in Photosystem I and Photosystem II

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Photosynthesis in silico

Part of the book series: Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration ((AIPH,volume 29))

We discuss how the light harvesting in photosystem I, photosystem II and in light-harvesting complex II can be modeled at a quantitative level by taking into account the exciton structure of the chromophores in the pigment-protein complexes, static (conformational) disorder, and coupling of electronic excitations and charge-transfer (CT) states to fast nuclear motion. We show examples of simultaneous fitting of linear and nonlinear (time-dependent) spectral responses based on the modified Redfield theory that resulted in a consistent physical picture of the energy and electron transfer reactions. This picture (including the time scales and pathways of energy and charge transfer) allows a visualization of the excitation dynamics, thus leading to a deeper understanding of how photosynthetic pigment-proteins perform their function in harvesting of solar energy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1081, Amsterdam, 1081 HV, The Netherlands

    Rienk van Grondelle

  2. A. N. Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory, Moscow, 119992, Russia

    Vladimir I. Novoderezhkin

  3. Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1081, Amsterdam, 1081 HV, The Netherlands

    Jan P. Dekker

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  1. Rienk van Grondelle
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  2. Vladimir I. Novoderezhkin
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  3. Jan P. Dekker
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Tartu, Estonia

    Agu Laisk

  2. Institute of Systems Biology and Ecology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Nové Hrady, Czech Republic

    Ladislav Nedbal

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van Grondelle, R., Novoderezhkin, V.I., Dekker, J.P. (2009). Modeling Light Harvesting and Primary Charge Separation in Photosystem I and Photosystem II. In: Laisk, A., Nedbal, L., Govindjee (eds) Photosynthesis in silico . Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration, vol 29. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9237-4_3

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