Efficiency of photosynthesis in a Chl d-utilizing cyanobacterium is comparable to or higher than that in Chl a-utilizing oxygenic species

Journal Article · · Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Bioenergetics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbabio.2011.06.007· OSTI ID:1065567

Mielke, S. P. ^[1]; Kiang, N. Y. ^[2]; Blankenship, R. E. ^[3]; Gunner, M. R. ^[4]; Mauzerall, D. ^[1]

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1. Lab. of Photobiology, Rockefeller Univ., New York, NY (United States)
2. NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Columbia University, NY (United States)
3. Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO (United States)
4. City College of New York, NY (United States)

The cyanobacterium Acaryochloris marina uses chlorophyll d to carry out oxygenic photosynthesis in environments depleted in visible and enhanced in lower-energy, far-red light. However, the extent to which low photon energies limit the efficiency of oxygenic photochemistry in A. marina is not known. Here, we report the first direct measurements of the energy-storage efficiency of the photosynthetic light reactions in A. marina whole cells, and find it is comparable to or higher than that in typical, chlorophyll a-utilizing oxygenic species. This finding indicates that oxygenic photosynthesis is not fundamentally limited at the photon energies employed by A. marina, and therefore is potentially viable in even longer-wavelength light environments.

• Research Organization: Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Photosynthetic Antenna Research Center (PARC)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
• DOE Contract Number: SC0001035
• OSTI ID: 1065567
• Journal Information: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Bioenergetics, Vol. 1807, Issue 9; Related Information: PARC partners with Washington University in St. Louis (lead); University of California, Riverside; University of Glasgow, UK; Los Alamos National Laboratory; University of New Mexico; New Mexico Corsortium; North Carolina State University; Northwestern University; Oak Ridge National Laboratory; University of Pennsylvania; Sandia National Laboratories; University of Sheffield, UK; ISSN 0005-2728
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
solar (fuels)
photosynthesis (natural and artificial)
biofuels (including algae and biomass)
bio-inspired
charge transport
membrane
synthesis (novel materials)
synthesis (self-assembly)