STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF CAROTENOIDS

结构、几何形状、能量传递动力学和激发态 光合类胡萝卜素的状态能量将在 天然的和结晶的色素-蛋白质复合物。 具体 本研究的目的是：（1）确定 色素-蛋白质复合物中类胡萝卜素的构型 （2）确定光合细菌的作用机理; 触角中类胡萝卜素-细菌叶绿素能量传递 光合细菌复合体;（3）确定 类胡萝卜素与蛋白质的结合， 光合色素蛋白中的细菌叶绿素 配合物 该方法将使用各种光学 光谱技术作为各种制剂的探针。 这一结果很重要，因为光合植物的生存 生物体依赖于这些系统的能力， 有效地吸收能量，保护自己免受 光氧化破坏 类胡萝卜素执行这些功能。

The structures, geometries, energy transfer dynamics and excited state energies of photosynthetic carotenoids will be studied in native and crystallized pigment-protein complexes. The specific aims of the proposed research are to: (1) Determine the configuration of the carotenoids in the pigment-protein complexes of photosynthetic bacteria; (2) Determine the mechanism of carotenoid-to-bacteriochlorophyll energy transfer in antenna complexes of photosynthetic bacteria; (3) Determine the nature of the association of carotenoids with the protein and bacteriochlorophylls in photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes. The approach will be to use various optical spectroscopic techniques as probes of the various preparations. The results are important because the survival of photosynthetic organisms depends on the ability of these systems to utilize efficiently their absorbed energy and to protect themselves from photooxidative destruction. Carotenoids perform these functions.