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Updated: Sep 28, 2026

In Vitro Reconstitution of Light-harvesting Complexes of Plants and Green Algae
Published on: October 10, 2014
Carotenoid to chlorophyll energy transfer in the peridinin-chlorophyll-a-protein complex involves an intramolecular
Donatas Zigmantas1, Roger G Hiller, Villy Sundstrom
1Department of Chemical Physics, Lund University, Box 124, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden.
Abstract:
Carotenoids are, along with chlorophylls, crucial pigments involved in light-harvesting processes in photosynthetic organisms. Details of carotenoid to chlorophyll energy transfer mechanisms and their dependence on structural variability of carotenoids are as yet poorly understood. Here, we employ femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy to reveal energy transfer pathways in the peridinin-chlorophyll-a-protein (PCP) complex containing the highly substituted carotenoid peridinin, which includes an intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) state in its excited state manifold. Extending the transient absorption spectra toward near-infrared region (600-1800 nm) allowed us to separate contributions from different low-lying excited states of peridinin. The results demonstrate a special light-harvesting strategy in the PCP complex that uses the ICT state of peridinin to enhance energy transfer efficiency.
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