Electric Field Susceptibility of Chlorophyll c Leads to Unexpected Excitation Dynamics in the Major Light-Harvesting Complex of Diatoms

J Phys Chem Lett. 2024 Mar 7;15(9):2499-2510. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c03241. Epub 2024 Feb 27.

Abstract

Diatoms are one of the most abundant photosynthetic organisms on earth and contribute largely to atmospheric oxygen production. They contain fucoxanthin and chlorophyll-a/c binding proteins (FCPs) as light-harvesting complexes with a remarkable adaptation to the fluctuating light on ocean surfaces. To understand the basis of the photosynthetic process in diatoms, the excitation energy funneling within FCPs must be probed. A state-of-the-art multiscale analysis within a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics framework has been employed. To this end, the chlorophyll (Chl) excitation energies within the FCP complex from the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum have been determined. The Chl-c excitation energies were found to be 5-fold more susceptible to electric fields than those of Chl-a pigments and thus are significantly lower in FCP than in organic solvents. This finding challenges the general belief that the excitation energy of Chl-c is always higher than that of Chl-a in FCP proteins and reveals that Chl-c molecules are much more sensitive to electric fields within protein scaffolds than in Chl-a pigments. The analysis of the linear absorption spectrum and the two-dimensional electronic spectra of the FCP complex strongly supports these findings and allows us to study the excitation transfer within the FCP complex.

MeSH terms

  • Chlorophyll / chemistry
  • Chlorophyll A / metabolism
  • Chlorophyll Binding Proteins / chemistry
  • Diatoms* / metabolism
  • Light-Harvesting Protein Complexes / chemistry
  • Photosynthesis

Substances

  • chlorophyll c
  • Chlorophyll
  • Chlorophyll A
  • Chlorophyll Binding Proteins
  • Light-Harvesting Protein Complexes