Triplet excited state spectra and dynamics of carotenoids from the thermophilic purple photosynthetic bacterium Thermochromatium tepidum

Light-harvesting complex 2 from the anoxygenic phototrophic purple bacterium Thermochromatium tepidum was purified and studied by steady-state absorption, fluorescence and flash photolysis spectroscopy. Steady-state absorption and fluorescence measurements show that carotenoids play a negligible role as supportive energy donors and transfer excitation to bacteriochlorophyll-a with low energy transfer efficiency of ~30%. HPLC analysis determined that the dominant carotenoids in the complex are rhodopin and spirilloxanthin. Carotenoid excited triplet state formation upon direct (carotenoid) or indirect (bacteriochlorophyll-a Q(x) band) excitation shows that carotenoid triplets are mostly localized on spirilloxanthin. In addition, no triplet excitation transfer between carotenoids was observed. Such specific carotenoid composition and spectroscopic results strongly suggest that this organism optimized carotenoid composition in the light-harvesting complex 2 in order to maximize photoprotective capabilities of carotenoids but subsequently drastically suppressed their supporting role in light-harvesting process.

Triplet state EPR of reaction centers from the His(L173)→Leu (L173) mutant of Rhodobacter sphaeroides which contains a heterodimer primary donor

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy has been used to examine the triplet states in reaction centers of Rhodobacter sphaeroides which have undergone a genetic modification affecting the primary donor. Reaction centers containing the His(L173)→Leu(L173) substitution in the amino acid sequence have a primary donor which consists of a BChl-BPh heterodimer. The triplets formed in this heterodimer reaction center were compared with those formed in the wild-type reaction center which contains the BChl-BChl homodimer. Both reaction centers transfer triplet energy to the carotenoid under illumination at liquid nitrogen temperatures (∼90 K). However, the intensity of the carotenoid triplet signal is significantly decreased in the Leu(L173) mutant compared with the wild-type reaction center. At 12 K, in wild-type reaction centers only the primary donor triplet is observed. The Leu(L173) mutant exhibits a signal similar to that observed by Bylina et al. (1990) in His(M200)→Leu(M200) mutant reaction centers from Rb. capsulatus. The values of the zero-field splitting parameters of this triplet are discussed within the context of various models for the primary donor triplet state. No alteration in the ability of the carotenoid to quench the primary donor triplet state results from mutations at these sites.

How carotenoids function in photosynthetic bacteria

Carotenoids are essential for the survival of photosynthetic organisms. They function as light-harvesting molecules and provide photoprotection. In this review, the molecular features which determine the efficiencies of the various photophysical and photochemical processes of carotenoids are discussed. The behavior of carotenoids in photosynthetic bacterial reaction centers and light-harvesting complexes is correlated with data from experiments carried out on carotenoids and model systems in vitro. The status of the carotenoid structural determinations in vivo is reviewed.