Molecular basis of photoprotection and control of photosynthetic light-harvesting

Andrew A. Pascal, Zhenfeng Liu, Koen Broess, Bart van Oort, Herbert van Amerongen, Chao Wang, Peter Horton (), Bruno Robert (), Wenrui Chang and Alexander Ruban
Additional contact information
Andrew A. Pascal: URA2096/CNRS and DBJC/CEA, CEA-Saclay
Zhenfeng Liu: Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Koen Broess: Wageningen University
Bart van Oort: Wageningen University
Herbert van Amerongen: Wageningen University
Chao Wang: Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Peter Horton: University of Sheffield
Bruno Robert: URA2096/CNRS and DBJC/CEA, CEA-Saclay
Wenrui Chang: Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Alexander Ruban: University of Sheffield

Nature, 2005, vol. 436, issue 7047, 134-137

Abstract: A trick with the light A green plant can photosynthesize in shade pretty effectively, by collecting as much light as possible via an antenna made up of chlorophyll attached to a matrix of specialized proteins. In full sunlight though, the problem is rather different. When there is too much light it becomes necessary to ‘lose’ some of the Sun's energy in order to avoid bleaching damage. Little is known about the mechanism of the safety valve involved, but now it has been established that the atomic structure of the major plant light-harvesting antenna protein, published in Nature recently (428, 287–292; 2004), was in fact that of the molecule in a dissipative energy-wasting state. Armed with that knowledge and a spectroscopic analysis of the protein crystal, it is now possible to see how this protein, LHCII, changes the configuration of its pigment array in response to changes in light intensity. This has implications not just for improving the resistance of crops to stress but also for design of novel nano-optical devices.

Date: 2005
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DOI: 10.1038/nature03795

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