Abstract
The role of far-red pigments in oxygenic photosynthesis and a photoacclimation response, known as far-red light photoacclimation (FaRLiP), are described herein. Although many oxygenic photosynthetic organisms have evolved to have small amounts of antenna chlorophyll (Chl) a molecules that extend light harvesting to include wavelengths longer than 700 nm, very few eukaryotic organisms can grow in exclusively far-red light. In contrast, many terrestrial cyanobacteria have evolved the ability to grow in far-red light. Two mechanisms have been discovered. Firstly, Acaryochloris marina and similar organisms have replaced chlorophyll (Chl) a with Chl d, a pigment that absorbs wavelengths of light red-shifted about 30 nm compared to Chl a. Secondly, some cyanobacteria have evolved a photoacclimation response, FaRLiP, that leads to the synthesis of two red-shifted Chls, Chl f and Chl d, as well as the replacement of subunits of Photosystem I, Photosystem II, and phycobilisomes by special protein subunits only synthesized when cells are grown in far-red light. The modified photosynthetic apparatus can efficiently harvest photons between about 700 and 800 nm and allows organisms that undergo FaRLiP to grow in environmental niches that only receive far-red illumination. This article will describe how such organisms modify their photosynthetic apparatus to gain this capability.
Published Version
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