Abstract
Pycobilisomes (PBS) are photosynthetic antenna complexes of cyanobacteria responsible for capturing and transferring light energy with high efficiency. PBS has been estimated to transfer the absorbed photon energy to core terminal emitters with above 95% efficiency via the Forster resonant energy transfer (FRET) mechanism. In order to determine the energy transfer efficiency of whole PBSs, it is necessary to quantify photon emission properties from intact PBS components - PC rods and APC cylinders. Using single-molecule fluorescence imaging methods, we have imaged single PBS complexes (Synechocystis PPC6803) and determined the photon emission distribution of individual PBS complexes by analyzing the size of their intensity profiles [1]. Our results indicate that PBS molecules emit a sizable fraction of the absorbed light from components other than the terminal emitters, rendering the energy transfer efficiency << 95%. We have also investigated the fluorescence-quenching properties of PBS; results suggest that each PC rod and APC unit acts as an independent quenching unit (or light emission unit) with minimal coupling to the terminal emitters.[1]. S. DeCenzo, M. DeSantis, and Y. M. Wang Single-image separation measurements of two unresolved fluorophores. Optics Express, 18, 16628-16639, (2010)
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