title: Light-harvesting mechanism of bacteria exploits a critical interplay between the dynamics of transport and trapping.
abstract: Light-harvesting bacteria Rhodospirillum photometricum were recently found to adopt strikingly different architectures depending on illumination conditions. We present analytic and numerical calculations which explain this observation by quantifying a dynamical interplay between excitation transfer kinetics and reaction center cycling. High light-intensity membranes exploit dissipation as a photoprotective mechanism, thereby safeguarding a steady supply of chemical energy, while low light-intensity membranes efficiently process unused illumination intensity by channeling it to open reaction centers. More generally, our analysis elucidates and quantifies the trade-offs in natural network design for solar energy conversion.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Física, Universidad de Los Andes, A.A. 4976 Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Felipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Caycedo-Soler
authors.forename: Ferney J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Quiroga
authors.forename: Neil F
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D008027:Light; D045342:Light-Harvesting Protein Complexes / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D010788:Photosynthesis / Q000528:radiation effects; D012246:Rhodospirillum / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects*
chemical_list: D045342:Light-Harvesting Protein Complexes