New and unexpected routes for ultrafast electron transfer in photosynthetic reaction centers

FEBS Letters

van Brederode, Marion E¹  van Grondelle, Rienk¹ 

[1] Faculty of Sciences, Division of Physics and Astronomy, Department of Biophysics and Physics of Complex Systems, Vrije Universiteit and Institute of Molecular Biological Sciences (IMBW), Vrije Universiteit, de Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands

关键词: Photosynthetic reaction center;    Primary charge separation;    Biological electron transfer;    Photosystem II;    BChl;    bacteriochlorophyll;    BPhe;    bacteriopheophytin;    D;    heterodimeric primary electron donor;    P;    homodimeric primary electron donor;    Q;    quinone;    Rb;    Rhodobacter;    RC;    reaction center;    WT;    wild-type;    PS;    photosystem;   

DOI  :  10.1016/S0014-5793(99)00810-8

学科分类：生物化学/生物物理

来源: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

【 摘 要 】

In photosynthetic reaction centers, the excitation with light leads to the formation of a charge separated state across the photosynthetic membrane. For the reaction center of purple non-sulphur bacteria, it was previously generally assumed that this primary charge separation could only start with the excitation of the so-called special pair of bacteriochlorophyll molecules located in the heart of the RC. However, recently new and ultrafast pathways of charge separation have been discovered in the bacterial RC that are driven directly by the excited state of the accessory monomeric bacteriochlorophyll present in the active branch of cofactors. These results demonstrate that the route for energy conversion in photosynthesis can be much more flexible than previously thought. We suggest that the existence of multiple charge separation routes is particularly relevant for the mechanism of charge separation in the photosystem II reaction center of higher plants.

【 授权许可】

Unknown