Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 28, 2026

In Vitro Reconstitution of Light-harvesting Complexes of Plants and Green Algae
Published on: October 10, 2014
The pigment stoichiometry in a chlorophyll a/c type photosynthetic antenna
Ritsuko Fujii1, Mamiko Kita, Matsumi Doe
1The OCU Advanced Research Institute for Natural Science and Technology (OCARINA), 3-3-138 Sugimoto, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, 558-8585, Japan. ritsuko@sci.osaka-cu.ac.jp
Abstract:
The trimeric fucoxanthin-chlorophyll a/c protein (FCP) was purified from a Japanese brown alga, Cladosiphon okamuranus TOKIDA. Its pigment stoichiometry was determined to be chlorophyll (Chl) a:Chl c (1):Chl c (2):fucoxanthin = 4.6:1.1:1.0:5.5 by a combination of binary HPLC and (1)H NMR spectroscopy. No violaxanthin found bound to the FCP. The ratio of Chl c/Chl a in this FCP is amongst the highest so far reported.
Related Concept Videos
The Antenna Complex
Photosystems
Functioning of Photosystems
Photosystems contain many pigment molecules, such as chlorophylls and carotenoids, arranged in a particular organization across two domains — the antenna complex and the reaction center. The main aim of the pigment molecules...
Photosystem II
The pigment molecules are arranged across two photosystem domains — the antenna complex and the reaction center. The main aim of the pigment molecules...
The Photochemical Reaction Center
Photosystem I
Both these photosystems work in concert. An excited electron from PSII is relayed to PSI via an electron transport chain in the thylakoid membrane of the chloroplast, which is comprised of the carrier molecule plastoquinone, the dual-protein cytochrome complex, and plastocyanin. As electrons move between PSII and PSI, they lose energy and must be re-energized...
Anatomy of Chloroplasts
