Molecular Mechanisms of Activation in the Orange Carotenoid Protein Revealed by Molecular Dynamics.

ABSTRACT: Light-harvesting in photosynthesis is accompanied by photoprotective processes. In cyanobacteria, the photoprotective role is played by a specialized complex, the orange carotenoid protein, which is activated by strong blue-green light. This photoactivation involves a unique series of structural changes which terminate with an opening of the complex into two separate domains, one of which acts as a quencher for the light-harvesting complexes. Many experimental studies have tried to reveal the molecular mechanisms through which the energy absorbed by the carotenoid finally leads to the large conformational change of the complex. Here, for the first time, these mechanisms are revealed by simulating at the atomistic level the whole dynamics of the complex through an effective combination of e

SUBMITTER: Bondanza M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7775743 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature