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Updated: Mar 31, 2026

In Vitro Reconstitution of Light-harvesting Complexes of Plants and Green Algae
Published on: October 10, 2014
Synthesis and Functional Reconstitution of Light-Harvesting Complex II into Polymeric Membrane Architectures
Thomas Zapf1, Cherng-Wen Darren Tan1, Tobias Reinelt1
1Department for Nanobiotechnology, Institute of Synthetic Bioarchitectures, University of Natural Resources and Life Science, Muthgasse 11/2, 1190 Vienna (Austria).
Abstract:
One of most important processes in nature is the harvesting and dissipation of solar energy with the help of light-harvesting complex II (LHCII). This protein, along with its associated pigments, is the main solar-energy collector in higher plants. We aimed to generate stable, highly controllable, and sustainable polymer-based membrane systems containing LHCII-pigment complexes ready for light harvesting. LHCII was produced by cell-free protein synthesis based on wheat-germ extract, and the successful integration of LHCII and its pigments into different membrane architectures was monitored. The unidirectionality of LHCII insertion was investigated by protease digestion assays. Fluorescence measurements indicated chlorophyll integration in the presence of LHCII in spherical as well as planar bilayer architectures. Surface plasmon enhanced fluorescence spectroscopy (SPFS) was used to reveal energy transfer from chlorophyll b to chlorophyll a, which indicates native folding of the LHCII proteins.
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