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Isolating and Incorporating Light-Harvesting Antennas from Diatom Cyclotella Meneghiniana in Liposomes with Thylakoid Lipids
Published on: August 28, 2018
Structure of giant kelp Photosystem I-FCP uncovers drivers of antenna evolution across the red lineage
Jenevieve D Weissman1, Pablo Maturana1,2, Hui M O Oung1
1Department of Plant Biology, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
Abstract:
Brown algae and other red-algae-derived organisms are major contributors to global CO2 fixation via photosynthesis. To understand the photosynthetic function of brown algae, we obtained the structure of giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera photosystem I (PSI) with a fucoxanthin-chlorophyll-protein (FCP) antenna and compared it to known structures from the red-algal lineage. We identified differences in M. pyrifera's antenna composition, architecture, and chlorophyll networks, as well as a pronounced variation in transmembrane hydrophobic thickness across the PSI-FCP supercomplex, with implications for photochemical function. Our work lays the foundation to understand kelp's high photosynthetic productivity and reveals drivers of antenna conservation and diversification for the red lineage.
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