| Abstract
| - LH2 complexes from Rb. sphaeroides were modified genetically so that lycopene, with 11saturated double bonds, replaced the native carotenoids which contain 10 saturated double bonds. Tuningthe S1 level of the carotenoid in LH2 in this way affected the dynamics of energy transfer within LH2,which were investigated using both steady-state and time-resolved techniques. The S1 energy of lycopenein n-hexane was determined to be ∼12 500 ± 150 cm-1, by direct measurement of the S1−S2 transientabsorption spectrum using a femtosecond IR-probing technique, thus placing an upper limit on the S1energy of lycopene in the LH2 complex. Fluorescence emission and excitation spectra demonstrated thatenergy can be transferred from lycopene to the bacteriochlorophyll molecules within this LH2 complex.The energy-transfer dynamics within the mutant complex were compared to wild-type LH2 from Rb.sphaeroides containing the carotenoid spheroidene and from Rs. molischianum, in which lycopene is thenative carotenoid. The results show that the overall efficiency for Crt → B850 energy transfer is ∼80%in lyco-LH2 and ∼95% in WT-LH2 of Rb. sphaeroides. The difference in overall Crt → BChl transferefficiency of lyco-LH2 and WT-LH2 mainly relates to the low efficiency of the Crt S1 → BChl pathwayfor complexes containing lycopene, which was 20% in lyco-LH2. These results show that in an LH2complex where the Crt S1 energy is sufficiently high to provide efficient spectral overlap with both B800and B850 Qy states, energy transfer via the Crt S1 state occurs to both pigments. However, the introductionof lycopene into the Rb. sphaeroides LH2 complex lowers the S1 level of the carotenoid sufficiently toprevent efficient transfer of energy to the B800 Qy state, leaving only the Crt S1 → B850 channel, stronglysuggesting that Crt S1 → BChl energy transfer is controlled by the relative Crt S1 and BChl Qy energies.
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