Impact of the lipid bilayer on energy transfer kinetics in the photosynthetic protein LH2.

ABSTRACT: Photosynthetic purple bacteria convert solar energy to chemical energy with near unity quantum efficiency. The light-harvesting process begins with absorption of solar energy by an antenna protein called Light-Harvesting Complex 2 (LH2). Energy is subsequently transferred within LH2 and then through a network of additional light-harvesting proteins to a central location, termed the reaction center, where charge separation occurs. The energy transfer dynamics of LH2 are highly sensitive to intermolecular distances and relative organizations. As a result, minor structural perturbations can cause significant changes in these dynamics. Previous experiments have primarily been performed in two ways. One uses non-native samples where LH2 is solubilized in detergent, which can alter protein struc

SUBMITTER: Ogren JI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5914429 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature