Probing Electron-Transfer Times in Photosynthetic Reaction Centers by Hole-Burning Spectroscopy

A brief discussion is presented of transient hole-burned (HB) spectra (and the information that they provide) obtained for isolated reaction centers (RCs) from wild-type (WT) Rhodobacter sphaeroides, RCs containing zinc-bacteriochlorophylls (Zn-BChls), and RCs of Photosystem II (PSII) from spinach and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii . The shape of the spectral density and the strength of electron-phonon coupling in bacterial RCs are discussed. We focus, however, on heterogeneity of isolated PS II RCs from spinach and, in particular, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii , site energies of active (electron acceptor) and inactive pheophytins, the nature of the primary electron donor(s), and the possibility of multiple charge-separation (CS) pathways in the isolated PSII RC. We conclude with comments on current efforts in HB spectroscopy in the area of photosynthesis and future directions in HB spectroscopy.