title: Electron transfer in the reaction center of the Rb. sphaeroides R-26 studied by transient absorption.
abstract: Electron transfer at the reaction center of the purple photosynthetic bacterium Rb. sphaeroides R-26 was measured at room temperature by the time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy technique with 200 fs temporal resolution. The absorbance changes characteristic of the excited state of the primary donor and extending over the whole spectral range investigated from 350 nm up to 720 nm appeared after excitation with a laser pulse of about 100 fs duration at 800 nm. The time evolution of the spectra reflected the excitation of bacteriochlorophylls (BChl) M and L and the subsequent transfer of this excitation to the primary electron donor (P), with the time constant shorter than 1 ps. The decay time constant of the excited primary donor P was determined as about 3 ps, and it was faster than the rise of the reduced intermediary acceptor bacteriopheophytin (BPhe(L)). Photoreduction of BPhe(L) and its further reoxidation was clearly observed as an increase in its bleaching band intensity at around 540 nm in about 4 ps and its decrease in about 200 ps. Our findings support the theoretical model assuming the involvement of the intermediate state P(+)BChl- in the so-called "two-step" model. In this model an electron is transferred in a sequence from the excited special pair P* to bacteriochlorophyll, BChl(L), then to bacteriopheophytin, BPhe(L), and further on to quinone, Q(A). The branched charge separation, partially via P and partially via BChl(L), was also observed.
authors.affiliation: Center for Ultrafast Laser Spectroscopy, A. Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 85, 61-614 Poznan, Poland.
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ziolek
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pawlowicz
authors.forename: Ryszard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Naskrecki
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dobek
mesh_terms: D000042:Absorption; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D004579:Electron Transport; D007700:Kinetics; D010788:Photosynthesis; D045322:Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D012242:Rhodobacter sphaeroides / Q000378:metabolism*; D013053:Spectrophotometry
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D045322:Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins