Energy transfers from photosystem II to photosystem I in Cryptomonas rufescens (Cryptophyceae)

In Cryptomonas rufescens (Cryptophyceae), phycoerythrin located in the thylakoid lumen is the major accessory pigment. Oxygen action spectra prove phycoerythrin to be efficient in trapping light energy. The fluorescence excitation spectra at -196 degrees C obtained by the method of Butler and Kitajima (Butler, W.L. and Kitajima, M. (1975) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 396, 72-85) indicate that like in Rhodophyceae, chlorophyll a is the exclusive light-harvesting pigment for Photosystem I. For Photosystem II we can observe two types of antennae: (1) a light-harvesting chlorophyll complex connected to Photosystem II reaction centers, which transfers excitation energy to Photosystem I reaction centers when all the Photosystem II traps are closed. (2) A light-harvesting phycoerythrin complex, which transfers excitation energy exclusively to the Photosystem II reaction complexes responsible for fluorescence at 690 nm. We conclude that in Cryptophycease, phycoerythrin is an efficient light-harvesting pigment, organized as an antenna connected to Photosystem II centers, antenna situated in the lumen of the thylakoid. However, we cannot afford to exclude that a few parts of phycobilin pigments could be connected to inactive chlorophylls fluorescing at 690 nm.