title: Augmenting light coverage for photosynthesis through YFP-enhanced charge separation at the Rhodobacter sphaeroides reaction centre.
abstract: Photosynthesis uses a limited range of the solar spectrum, so enhancing spectral coverage could improve the efficiency of light capture. Here, we show that a hybrid reaction centre (RC)/yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) complex accelerates photosynthetic growth in the bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides. The structure of the RC/YFP-light-harvesting 1 (LH1) complex shows the position of YFP attachment to the RC-H subunit, on the cytoplasmic side of the RC complex. Fluorescence lifetime microscopy of whole cells and ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy of purified RC/YFP complexes show that the YFP-RC intermolecular distance and spectral overlap between the emission of YFP and the visible-region (QX) absorption bands of the RC allow energy transfer via a Förster mechanism, with an efficiency of 40±10%. This proof-of-principle study demonstrates the feasibility of increasing spectral coverage for harvesting light using non-native genetically-encoded light-absorbers, thereby augmenting energy transfer and trapping in photosynthesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
authors.forename: Katie J
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3764-6406
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Grayson
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130-4889, USA.
authors.forename: Kaitlyn M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Faries
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
authors.forename: Pu
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130-4889, USA.
authors.forename: Preston
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dilbeck
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
authors.forename: Elizabeth C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hitchcock
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
authors.forename: Cvetelin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vasilev
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130-4889, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Yuen
authors.affiliation: Photosynthetic Antenna Research Center, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130-4889, USA.
authors.forename: Dariusz M
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1976-9296
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Niedzwiedzki
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Sheffield, Brook Hill, Sheffield S3 7HF, UK.
authors.forename: Graham J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Leggett
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130-4889, USA.
authors.forename: Dewey
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Holten
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130-4889, USA.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kirmaier
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
authors.forename: C
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2533-9783
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Neil Hunter
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D031541:Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer; D008027:Light; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008954:Models, Biological; D010788:Photosynthesis; D045331:Photosystem I Protein Complex / Q000378:metabolism*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011789:Quantum Theory; D012242:Rhodobacter sphaeroides / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D045331:Photosystem I Protein Complex; C054562:yellow fluorescent protein, Bacteria