A photophysical control mechanism for zeaxanthin-associated radiationless energy dissipation in photosynthesis

Technical Report · Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1994

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10180150· OSTI ID:10180150

Frank, H A; Cua, A ^[1]; Young, A ^[2]; Gosztola, D; Wasielewski, M R ^[3]

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1. Connecticut Univ., Storrs, CT (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
2. Johns Moores Univ., Liverpool (United Kingdom). School of Biological and Earth Sciences
3. Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)

Understanding the way in which excess solar energy is dissipated by photosynthetic membranes under high light stress is a major problem in photosynthesis studies. This paper reports femtosecond time-resolved, fast-transient optical spectroscopic analyses of three important xanthophylls: violaxanthin, antheraxanthin, zeoaxanthin. The results support the notion that the enzymatic reactions that interconvert these xanthophylls act as a kind of ``molecular gear shift`` controlling whether the molecules function as light-harvesting pigments performing forward energy transfer or as fluorescence quenchers performing reverse energy transfer.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States); Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 10180150
• Report Number(s): ANL/CHM/CP-80107; ON: DE94018383; CNN: Grant GM-30353
• Resource Relation: Other Information: PBD: [1994]
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
CAROTENOIDS
ENERGY TRANSFER
140505
400500
PHOTOCHEMICAL, PHOTOBIOLOGICAL, AND THERMOCHEMICAL CONVERSION
PHOTOCHEMISTRY