Abstract
Green plants use the xanthophyll cycle to regulate the flow of energy to chlorophylla within photosynthetic proteins. Under conditions of low light intensity violaxanthin, a carotenoid possessing nine conjugated double bonds, functions as an antenna pigment by transferring energy from its lowest excited singlet state to that of chlorophylla within light-harvesting proteins. When the light intensity increases, violaxanthin is biochemically transformed into zeaxanthin, a carotenoid that possesses eleven conjugated double bonds. The results presented here show that extension of the ⧄ conjugation of the polyene lowers the energy of the lowest excited singlet state of the carotenoid below that of chlorophylla. As a consequence zeaxanthin can act as a trap for the excess excitation energy on chlorophylla pigments within the protein, thus regulating the flow of energy within photosynthetic light-harvesting proteins.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- Chla :
-
chlorophylla
References
Cogdell RJ and Frank HA (1987) How carotenoids function in photosynthesis. Biochim Biophys Acta 895: 63–79
Cosgrove SA, Guite MA, Burnell TB and Christensen RL (1990) Electronic relaxation in long polyenes. J Phys Chem 94: 8118–8124
DeCoster B, Christensen RL, Gebhard R, Lugtenberg J, Farhoosh R and Frank HA (1992) Low-lying electronic states of carotenoids. Biochim Biophys Acta 1102: 107–114
Demmig-Adams B (1990) Carotenoids and photoprotection in plants: A role for the xanthophyll zeaxanthin. Biochim Biophys Acta 1020: 1–24
Dexter DL (1953) A theory of sensitized luminescence in solids. J Chem Phys 21: 836–850
Englman R and Jortner J (1970) The energy gap law for radiationless transitions in large molecules. Mol Phys 18: 145–164
Frank HA, Farhoosh R, Gebhard R, Lugtenburg J, Gosztola D and Wasielewski MR (1993) The dynamics of S1 excited states of carotenoids. Chem Phys Lett 207: 88–92
Gilmore AM and Yamamoto HY (1993) Dark induction of zeaxanthin-dependent nonphotochemical fluorescence quenching mediated by ATP. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 89: 1899–1903
Gilmore AM and Yamamoto HY (1993) Linear models relating xanthophylls and lumen acidity to non-photochemical fluorescence quenching: Evidence that antheraxanthin explains zeaxanthin independent quenching. Photosynth Res 35: 67–78
Horton P and Ruban AV (1992) Regulation of photosystem II. Photosynth Res 34: 375–385
Horton P, Ruban AV, Rees D, Pascal AA, Noctor G and Young AJ (1991) Control of the light-harvesting function of chloroplast membranes by aggregation of the LHC II chlorophyll-protein complex. FEBS Lett 292: 1–4
Kwa SLS, Groeneveld FG, Dekker JP, vanGrondelle R, vanAmerongen H, Lin S and Struve WS (1992) Steady-state and timeresolved polarized light spectroscopy of the green plant light-harvesting complex II. Biochim Biophys Acta 1101: 143–146
Liaaen-Jensen S (1971) Isolation, Reactions. In: Isler O (ed) Carotenoids, pp 61–188. Birkhauser Verlag, Basel, Switzerland
Owens TG, Shreve AP and Albrecht AC (1992) Dynamics and mechanism of singlet energy transfer between carotenoids and chlorophylls: Light harvesting and non-photochemical fluorescence quenching. In: Murata N (ed) Research in Photosynthesis, Vol 1, pp 179–186. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
Shreve AP, Trautman JK, Frank HA, Owens TG and Albrecht AC (1991) Femtosecond energy transfer processes in the B800–850 light-harvesting complex ofRhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1. Biochim Biophys Acta 1058: 280–288
Siefermann-Harms D (1985) Carotenoids in photosynthesis. I. Location in photosynthetic membranes and light-harvesting functions. Biochim Biophys Acta 811: 325–355
Snyder R, Arvidson E, Foote C, Harrigan L and Christensen RL (1985) Electronic energy levels in long polyenes: S2 → S0 emission in all-trans- 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13-tetradecaheptaene. J Am Chem Soc 107: 4117–4122
Thrash RJ, Fang HLB and Leroi GE (1977) The Raman excitation profile spectrum of β-carotene in the preresonance region: Evidence for a low-lying singlet state. J Chem Phys 67: 5930–5933
Wasielewski MR, Johnson DG, Bradford EG and Kispert LD (1989) Temperature dependence of the lowest excited singlet-state life-time of all-trans-β-carotene and fully deuterated all-trans-β-carotene. J Chem Phys 91: 6691–6697
Yamamoto HY (1979) Biochemistry of the violaxanthin cycle in higher plants. Pure Appl Chem 51: 639–648
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Frank, H.A., Cua, A., Chynwat, V. et al. Photophysics of the carotenoids associated with the xanthophyll cycle in photosynthesis. Photosynth Res 41, 389–395 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02183041
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02183041