The excitation energy transfer in the trimeric fucoxanthin–chlorophyll protein from Cyclotella meneghiniana analyzed by polarized transient absorption spectroscopy

• Published in: Chemical physics 2010-07, Vol.373 (1), p.104-109
• Main Authors: Gildenhoff, Nina, Herz, Julia, Gundermann, Kathi, Büchel, Claudia, Wachtveitl, Josef
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cyclotella meneghiniana; Excitation energy transfer; Fucoxanthin–chlorophyll protein; Polarized transient absorption spectroscopy
• ISSN: 0301-0104
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemphys.2010.02.012

Polarized transient absorption spectroscopy has been applied to study the carotenoid to chlorophyll excitation energy transfer in the trimeric fucoxanthin–chlorophyll protein FCPa of the centric diatom Cyclotella meneghiniana. We examined the transfer pathways after excitation in the main carotenoid band (S 0 → S 2 transition) with two excitation wavelengths that address either red fucoxanthins only or blue fucoxanthins and the xanthophyll cycle pigments. We were able to identify different transition dipole moments for the S 1 and the ICT state, which are assumed to be a single coupled state that transfers excitation energy to chlorophyll a. Furthermore we obtained different transition dipole moments for the first excited state S 1 of fucoxanthin depending on the excitation wavelength.