Excited State Dynamics in the Photosystem I Antennae of Algae and Higher Plants

本项目将研究藻类和高等植物光系统I核心和外围天线复合体中能量激发、迁移和捕获反应的动力学。激发衰减的光谱和时间特性将使用几种皮秒分辨光谱技术进行测量。光系统装置的生化和遗传操作将用于简化和解剖光系统I天线。在细菌、藻类和高等植物中将光能转化为生物上有用的化合物的光合作用为地球上大部分生命提供了最终的能量来源。光合作用的初始步骤是在光物理和光化学领域，并定位在几种类型的色素-蛋白质复合物中，这些复合物要么作为反应中心，要么作为光收集天线复合物。复杂的天线系统有效地吸收并将光能传输到反应中心。反应中心是光化学能量转导的场所。反应中心及其能量耦合的天线色素是光合单位的功能定义。

This project will examine the dynamics of energy excitation, migration and trapping reactions in the Photosystem I core and peripheral antenna complexes of algae and higher plants. The spectral and temporal properties of excitation decay will be measured using several picosecond-resolved spectroscopic techniques. Biochemical and genetic manipulations of the photosystem apparatus will be used to simplify and dissect the Photosystem I antennae. The photosynthetic conversion of light energy into biologically useful compounds in bacteria, algae and higher plants provides the ultimate energy source for much of life on earth. The initial steps of photosynthesis are in the photophysical and photochemical domains and are localized in several types of pigment-protein complexes that function either as reaction center or light-harvesting antenna complexes. The complex antenna system efficiently absorbs and transfers light energy to the reaction centers. The reaction centers are the site of the photochemical energy transduction. The reaction center and its energetically coupled antenna pigments are the functional definition of the photosynthetic unit.