Terminal Emitter Research Articles

Single-Molecule Investigation of Phycobilisome Energy Transfer Mechanisms

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)

Identification of two emitting sites in the dissipative state of the major light harvesting antenna

In order to cope with the deleterious effects of excess light, photosynthetic organisms have developed remarkable strategies where the excess energy is dissipated as heat by the antenna system. In higher plants one main player in the process is the major light harvesting antenna of Photosystem II (PSII), LHCII. In this paper we applied Stark fluorescence spectroscopy to LHCII in different quenching states to investigate the possible contribution of charge-transfer states to the quenching. We find that in the quenched state the fluorescence displays a remarkable sensitivity to the applied electric field. The resulting field-induced emission spectra reveal the presence of two distinct energy dissipating sites both characterized by a strong but spectrally very different response to the applied electric field. We propose the two states to originate from chlorophyll-chlorophyll and chlorophyll-carotenoid charge transfer interactions coupled to the chlorophyll exciton state in the terminal emitter locus and discuss these findings in the light of the different models proposed to be responsible for energy dissipation in photosynthesis.

ApcD, ApcF and ApcE are not required for the Orange Carotenoid Protein related phycobilisome fluorescence quenching in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803

In cyanobacteria, strong blue-green light induces a photoprotective mechanism involving an increase of energy thermal dissipation at the level of phycobilisome (PB), the cyanobacterial antenna. This leads to a decrease of the energy arriving to the reaction centers. The photoactive Orange Carotenoid Protein (OCP) has an essential role in this mechanism. The binding of the red photoactivated OCP to the core of the PB triggers energy and PB fluorescence quenching. The core of PBs is constituted of allophycocyanin trimers emitting at 660 or 680nm. ApcD, ApcF and ApcE are the responsible of the 680nm emission. In this work, the role of these terminal emitters in the photoprotective mechanism was studied. Single and double Synechocystis PCC 6803 mutants, in which the apcD or/and apcF genes were absent, were constructed. The Cys190 of ApcE which binds the phycocyanobilin was replaced by a Ser. The mutated ApcE attached an unusual chromophore emitting at 710nm. The activated OCP was able to induce the photoprotective mechanism in all the mutants. Moreover, in vitro reconstitution experiments showed similar amplitude and rates of fluorescence quenching. Our results demonstrated that ApcD, ApcF and ApcE are not required for the OCP-related fluorescence quenching and they strongly suggested that the site of quenching is one of the APC trimers emitting at 660nm. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Photosynthesis Research for Sustainability: from Natural to Artificial.

PHYCOBILIPROTEIN COMPONENTS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PHYCOBILISOME FROM A THERMOPHILIC CYANOBACTERIUM MYXOSARCINA CONCINNA(1).

A phycocyanin (PC) and three allophycocyanin (AP) components (designated PC, AP1, AP2, and AP3) were prepared from Myxosarcina concinna Printz phycobilisomes by the native gradient PAGE performed in a neutral buffer system combined with the ion exchange column chromatography on DEAE-DE52 cellulose. PC contained one β subunit () and two α ones ( and ), and it carried two rod linkers ( and ) and one rod-core linker (). AP1 and AP3 were characterized as peripheral core APs, whereas AP2 was an inner-core one. AP2 and AP3 were demonstrated to function as the terminal emitters. Each of the three APs contained two β subunits ( and ), two α subunits ( and ) and an inner-core linker (). AP2 and AP3 had another subunit of the allophycocyanin B (AP-B) type () belonging to the β subunit group, and AP1 and AP3 carried their individual specific core linkers ( and ), respectively. No AP component was shown to associate with the core-membrane linker LCM . The functions of the linker polypeptides in the phycobilisome (PBS) construction are discussed.

How the molecular structure determines the flow of excitation energy in plant light-harvesting complex II

Excitation energy transfer in the light-harvesting complex II of higher plants is modeled using excitonic couplings and local transition energies determined from structure-based calculations recently ( Müh et al., 2010). A theory is introduced that implicitly takes into account protein induced dynamic localization effects of the exciton wavefunction between weakly coupled optical and vibronic transitions of different pigments. Linear and non-linear optical spectra are calculated and compared with experimental data reaching qualitative agreement. High-frequency intramolecular vibrational degrees of freedom are found important for ultrafast subpicosecond excitation energy transfer between chlorophyll (Chl) b and Chl a, since they allow for fast dissipation of the excess energy. The slower ps component of this transfer is due to the monomeric excited state of Chl b 605. The majority of exciton relaxation in the Chl a spectral region is characterized by slow ps exciton equilibration between the Chl a domains within one layer and between the lumenal and stromal layers in the 10–20 ps time range. Subpicosecond exciton relaxation in the Chl a region is only found within the terminal emitter domain (Chls a 610/611/612) and within the Chl a 613/614 dimer. Deviations between measured and calculated exciton state life times are obtained for the intermediate spectral region between the main absorbance bands of Chl a and Chl b that indicate that besides Chl b 608 another pigment should absorb there. Possible candidates, so far not identified by structure-based calculations, but by fitting of optical spectra and mutagenesis studies, are discussed. Additional mutagenesis studies are suggested to resolve this issue.

Structure-Based Identification of Energy Sinks in Plant Light-Harvesting Complex II

The local S(0) → S(1) transition energies (site energies) and corresponding excitonic couplings of chlorophyll a (Chla) and b (Chlb) pigments bound to trimeric, major light-harvesting complex II (LHCII) of higher plants are calculated on the basis of the two crystal structures (Liu et al. Nature 2004, 428, 287-292; Standfuss et al. EMBO J. 2005, 24, 919-928) by using a combined quantum chemical/electrostatic method (Müh et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2007, 104, 16862-16867) that has been modified to cover membrane proteins and to account more realistically for the behavior of protonatable groups under the conditions of low-temperature optical spectroscopy. The obtained exciton levels are in reasonable agreement with experimental information (including linear absorption, linear dichroism, circular dichroism, fluorescence spectra of native as well as wild-type-minus-mutant difference absorption spectra of recombinant LHCII) and differ from earlier treatments based on fitted site energies (Novoderezhkin et al. J. Phys. Chem. B 2005, 109, 10493-10504) mainly by assigning a lower energy level to Chla 604 (in the nomenclature of Liu et al.) and Chlb 608 and a higher energy level to Chlb 605 and 609. The energy sink at cyrogenic temperatures is located at Chla 610 in the stromal layer of pigments, but structural changes at elevated temperatures may change the nature of the terminal emitter domain (including Chla 610/611/612). The site energy red-shift of Chla 610 is calculated to be significantly larger on the basis of the crystal structure of Standfuss et al. compared to that of Liu et al. due to conformational differences in the neighborhood of this pigment. A possible conformational change in the vicinity of Chla 604 involving tyrosine 112 and neoxanthin is found to strongly affect the site energy of this Chla and render it an alternative energy sink in the lumenal layer. A detailed, structure-based analysis of electrostatic pigment-protein interactions is performed to identify amino acid residues that are of interest for future mutagenesis experiments with the aim to further characterize the energy sinks, putative "bottleneck" states for excitation energy transfer, and potential sites of nonphotochemical quenching.

Excitation energy transfer to Photosystem I in filaments and heterocysts of Nostoc punctiforme

Cyanobacteria adapt to varying light conditions by controlling the amount of excitation energy to the photosystems. On the minute time scale this leads to redirection of the excitation energy, usually referred to as state transitions, which involves movement of the phycobilisomes. We have studied short-term light adaptation in isolated heterocysts and intact filaments from the cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme ATCC 29133. In N. punctiforme vegetative cells differentiate into heterocysts where nitrogen fixation takes place. Photosystem II is inactivated in the heterocysts, and the abundancy of Photosystem I is increased relative to the vegetative cells. To study light-induced changes in energy transfer to Photosystem I, pre-illumination was made to dark adapted isolated heterocysts. Illumination wavelengths were chosen to excite Photosystem I (708 nm) or phycobilisomes (560 nm) specifically. In heterocysts that were pre-illuminated at 708 nm, fluorescence from the phycobilisome terminal emitter was observed in the 77 K emission spectrum. However, illumination with 560 nm light caused quenching of the emission from the terminal emitter, with a simultaneous increase in the emission at 750 nm, indicating that the 560 nm pre-illumination caused trimerization of Photosystem I. Excitation spectra showed that 560 nm pre-illumination led to an increase in excitation transfer from the phycobilisomes to trimeric Photosystem I. Illumination at 708 nm did not lead to increased energy transfer from the phycobilisome to Photosystem I compared to dark adapted samples. The measurements were repeated using intact filaments containing vegetative cells, and found to give very similar results as the heterocysts. This demonstrates that molecular events leading to increased excitation energy transfer to Photosystem I, including trimerization, are independent of Photosystem II activity.

Energy Flow in a Purpose‐Built Cascade Molecule Bearing Three Distinct Chromophores Attached to the Terminal Acceptor

A multicomponent cluster has been synthesised in which four disparate chromophores have been covalently linked through a logical arrangement that favours efficient photon collection and migration to a terminal emitter. The primary energy acceptor is a boron dipyrromethene (Bodipy) dye and different polycyclic aryl hydrocarbons have been substituted in place of the regular fluorine atoms attached to the boron centre. The first such unit is perylene, linked to boron through a 1,4-diethynylphenyl unit, which collects photons in the 320-490 nm region. The other photon collector is pyrene, also connected to the boron centre by a 1,4-diethynylphenyl spacer and absorbing strongly in the 280-420 nm region, which itself is equipped with an ethynylfluorene residue that absorbs in the UV region. Illumination into any of the polycyclic aryl hydrocarbons results in emission from the Bodipy unit. The rates of intramolecular electronic energy transfer have been determined from time-correlated, single-photon counting studies and compared with the rates for Coulombic interactions computed from the Förster expression. It has been necessary to allow for i) a more complex screening potential, ii) multipole-multipole coupling, iii) an extended transition dipole moment vector and iv) bridge-mediated energy transfer. The bridge-mediated energy transfer includes both modulation of the donor transition dipole vector by bridge states and Dexter-type electron exchange. The latter is a consequence of the excellent electronic coupling properties of the 1,4-diethynylphenyl spacer unit. The net result is a large antenna effect that localises the photon density at the primary acceptor without detracting from its highly favourable photophysical properties.

Protective dissipation of excess absorbed energy by photosynthetic apparatus of cyanobacteria: role of antenna terminal emitters

Two mechanisms of photoprotective dissipation of the excessively absorbed energy by photosynthetic apparatus of cyanobacteria are described that divert energy from reaction centers. Energy dissipation, monitored as nonphotochemical fluorescence quenching, occurs at different steps of energy transfer within the phycobilisomes or core antenna of photosystem I. Although these mechanisms differ significantly, in both cases, energy dissipates mainly from terminal emitters: allophycocyanin B or core membrane linker protein (L(CM)) in phycobilisomes, or the longest-wavelength chlorophylls in photosystem I antenna. It is supposed that carotenoid-induced energy dissipation in phycobilisomes is triggered by light-induced transformation of the nonquenched state of antenna into quenched state due to conformation changes caused by orange carotinoid-binding protein (OCP)-phycobilisome interaction. Fluorescence of the longest-wavelength chlorophylls of photosystem I antenna is strongly quenched by P700 cation radical or by P700 triplet state, dependent on redox state of the acceptor side cofactors of photosystem I.

Heat- and light-induced reorganizations in the phycobilisome antenna of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Thermo-optic effect

By using absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, we compared the effects of heat and light treatments on the phycobilisome (PBS) antenna of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 cells. Fluorescence emission spectra obtained upon exciting predominantly PBS, recorded at 25 °C and 77 K, revealed characteristic changes upon heat treatment of the cells. A 5-min incubation at 50 °C, which completely inactivated the activity of photosystem II, led to a small but statistically significant decrease in the F 680/ F 655 fluorescence intensity ratio. In contrast, heat treatment at 60 °C resulted in a much larger decrease in the same ratio and was accompanied by a blue-shift of the main PBS emission band at around 655 nm ( F 655), indicating an energetic decoupling of PBS from chlorophylls and reorganizations in its internal structure. (Upon exciting PBS, F 680 originates from photosystem II and from the terminal emitter of PBS.). Very similar changes were obtained upon exposing the cells to high light (600–7500 μmol photons m −2 s −1) for different time periods (10 min to 3 h). In cells with heat-inactivated photosystem II, the variations caused by light treatment could clearly be assigned to a similar energetic decoupling of the PBS from the membrane and internal reorganizations as induced at around 60 °C. These data can be explained within the frameworks of thermo-optic mechanism [Cseh et al. 2000, Biochemistry 39, 15250]: in high light the heat packages originating from dissipation might lead to elementary structural changes in the close vicinity of dissipation in heat-sensitive structural elements, e.g. around the site where PBS is anchored to the membrane. This, in turn, brings about a diminishment in the energy supply from PBS to the photosystems and reorganization in the molecular architecture of PBS.

Sorbitol regulates energy transfer from allophycocyanin to the terminal emitter within phycobilisomes in Synechocystis sp

The effects of sorbitol on energy transfer of phycobilisomes (PBSs) in vivo were investigated in a chlN deletion mutant of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. When the mutant was grown in the dark, it contained intact and functional PBSs but essentially no chlorophyll or photosystems. Therefore, the structural and functional changes of the mutant PBSs in vivo can be detected by measurement of low temperature (77 K) and room temperature fluorescence emission spectra. Our results, for the first time, demonstrate that sorbitol decreases the energy transfer from allophycocyanin to the terminal emitter, indicating the site for osmotic regulation of excitation transfer in PBSs.

Mechanism of the Down Regulation of Photosynthesis by Blue Light in the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

Exposure to blue light has previously been shown to induce the reversible quenching of fluorescence in cyanobacteria, indicative of a photoprotective mechanism responsible for the down regulation of photosynthesis. We have investigated the molecular mechanism behind fluorescence quenching by characterizing changes in excitation energy transfer through the phycobilin pigments of the phycobilisome to chlorophyll with steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence excitation and emission spectroscopy. Quenching was investigated in both a photosystem II-less mutant, and DCMU-poisoned wild-type Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. The action spectra for blue-light-induced quenching was identical in both cell types and was dominated by a band in the blue region, peaking at 480 nm. Fluorescence quenching and its dark recovery was inhibited by the protein cross-linking agent glutaraldehyde, which could maintain cells in either the quenched or the unquenched state. We found that high phosphate concentrations that inhibit phycobilisome mobility and the regulation of energy transfer by the light-state transition did not affect blue-light-induced fluorescence quenching. Both room temperature and 77 K fluorescence emission spectra revealed that fluorescence quenching was associated with phycobilin emission. Quenching was characterized by a decrease in the emission of allophycocyanin and long wavelength phycobilisome terminal emitters relative to that of phycocyanin. A global analysis of the room-temperature fluorescence decay kinetics revealed that phycocyanin and photosystem I decay components were unaffected by quenching, whereas the decay components originating from allophycocyanin and phycobilisome terminal emitters were altered. Our data support a regulatory mechanism involving a protein conformational change and/or change in protein-protein interaction which quenches excitation energy at the core of the phycobilisome.

Oxidative stress and metal ions effects on the cores of phycobilisomes in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

Inactivation of the chlN gene in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 resulted in no chlorophyll and photosystems when the mutant was grown in darkness, providing an in vivo system to study the structure and function of phycobilisomes (PBSs). The effects of hydrogen peroxide (H 2O 2) and metal ions on the mutant PBSs in vivo were investigated by low temperature fluorescence emission measurement. H 2O 2 induced an obvious disassembly of the cores of PBSs and interruption of energy transfer from allophycocyanin to the terminal emitter. Among many metal ions only silver induced disassembly of the cores of PBSs. Our results demonstrated for the first time that the cores of PBSs act as targets in vivo for oxidative stress or silver induced damage.

Structural and functional organization of the peripheral light-harvesting system in Photosystem I

This review centers on the structural and functional organization of the light-harvesting system in the peripheral antenna of Photosystem I (LHC I) and its energy coupling to the Photosystem I (PS I) core antenna network in view of recently available structural models of the eukaryotic Photosystem I-LHC I complex, eukaryotic LHC II complexes and the cyanobacterial Photosystem I core. A structural model based on the 3D homology of Lhca4 with LHC II is used for analysis of the principles of pigment arrangement in the LHC I peripheral antenna, for prediction of the protein ligands for the pigments that are unique for LHC I and for estimates of the excitonic coupling in strongly interacting pigment dimers. The presence of chlorophyll clusters with strong pigment-pigment interactions is a structural feature of PS I, resulting in the characteristic red-shifted fluorescence. Analysis of the interactions between the PS I core antenna and the peripheral antenna leads to the suggestion that the specific function of the red pigments is likely to be determined by their localization with respect to the reaction center. In the PS I core antenna, the Chl clusters with a different magnitude of low energy shift contribute to better spectral overlap of Chls in the reaction center and the Chls of the antenna network, concentrate the excitation around the reaction center and participate in downhill enhancement of energy transfer from LHC II to the PS I core. Chlorophyll clusters forming terminal emitters in LHC I are likely to be involved in photoprotection against excess energy.

Role of the C-terminal extrinsic region of the alpha polypeptide of the light-harvesting 2 complex of Rhodobacter sphaeroides: a domain swap study.

The LH1 and LH2 complexes of Rhodobacter sphaeroides form ring structures of 16 and 9 protomers, respectively, comprising alpha and beta polypeptides, bacteriochlorophylls (Bchl), and carotenoids. Using the LH2 complex as a starting point, two chimeric LH complexes were constructed incorporating the alphaC-terminal domain of either the Rb. sphaeroides LH1 complex or the Rhodospirillum molischianum LH2 complex. The LH1 domain swap produced a new red-shifted component that comprised approximately 30% of the total absorbance. In the LH1alpha C-terminal mutant this new red-shifted species acts as the terminal emitter, with the new emission maximum located 10 nm further to the red than for the WT. Raman spectroscopy indicates that a fraction of the B850 Bchls is involved in relatively weak H-bonds, possibly involving the alphaTrp(+11) residue within the new alphaC-terminus, consistent with a more LH1-like character for one of the Bchls. The CD data indicate that the domain swaps have perturbed the native arrangement of the B850 Bchls, including the site energy difference between the alpha- and beta-bound Bchls. Thus, the normal energetic structure of the ring system has been disrupted, with one component blue shifted due to the presumed loss of an H-bond donor and the other red shifted by the influence of the new alphaC-terminal domain. The dichotomous response of the mutants to the carotenoids incorporated, spheroidenone or neurosporene, strongly suggests that the C-terminal region of the alpha polypeptide is involved in binding a carotenoid. The projection map of the LH1alpha C-terminal mutant complex was determined in negative stain at 25 A resolution, and it shows a diameter of 53 A, compared to 50 A for the WT. Hence these new spectral properties have not been accompanied by an alteration in ring size.

Thermodynamic Investigation into the Mechanism of the Chlorophyll Fluorescence Quenching in Isolated Photosystem II Light-harvesting Complexes

Chlorophyll fluorescence quenching can be stimulated in vitro in purified photosystem II antenna complexes. It has been shown to resemble nonphotochemical quenching observed in isolated chloroplasts and leaves in several important respects, providing a model system for study of the mechanism of photoprotective energy dissipation. The effect of temperature on the rate of quenching in trimeric and monomeric antenna complexes revealed the presence of two temperature-dependent processes with different activation energies, one between approximately 15 and 35 degrees C and another between approximately 40 and 60 degrees C. The temperature of the transition between the two phases was higher for trimers than for monomers. Throughout this temperature range, the quenching was almost completely reversible, the protein CD was unchanged, and pigment binding was maintained. The activation energy for the low temperature phase was consistent with local rearrangements of pigments within some of the protein domains, whereas the higher temperature phase seemed to arise from large scale conformational transitions. For both phases, there was a strong linear correlation between the quenching rate and the appearance of an absorption band at 685 nm. In addition, quenching was correlated with a loss of CD at approximately 495 nm from Lutein 1 and at 680 nm from chlorophylls a1 and a2, the terminal emitters. The results obtained indicate that quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence in antenna complexes is brought about by perturbation of the lutein 1/chlorophyll a1/chlorophyll a2 locus, forming a poorly fluorescing chlorophyll associate, either a dimer or an excimer.

Energy transfer processes in phycobilisome model complex at 77 K

Ultra time-resolved fluorescence spectra were used to study the energy transfer processes and mechanism of complex PEC/PC/APC at 77 K, which was reconstructed with phycobiliproteins (PEC, PC and APC) of Anabaena variabilis , and has intact light-harvesting system and single terminal emitter. The energy transfer relationships between different chromophores especially between rod and core were also discussed based on fluorescence decay kinetic under different detected wavelengths. As a result, we got the possible energy transfer pathways and transfer time constants to be 29 ps between two PEC trimers, 12 ps between PEC and C-PC, 51 ps between rod and core.

Effects of chlorophyll availability on phycobilisomes in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.

Inactivation of the chlL gene in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 resulted in negligible chlorophyll content when the mutant was grown in darkness. Upon phycocyanin excitation at 580 nm, the 77K fluorescence spectrum of dark-grown cells showed three peaks at 648 nm, 665 nm, and 685 nm, this last being the largest. This reflects the functional presence of major components of phycobilisomes, including phycocyanin, allophycocyanin, and the terminal emitter, and efficient energy transfer between these components. As expected, no fluorescence emission peaks corresponding to chlorophyll in the photosystems were observed. Intact phycobilisomes could be isolated from the dark-grown chlL-deletion mutant. However, the phycobilisomes had a lower efficiency of energy transfer than did those isolated from the light-grown mutant, probably because of a decreased phycobilisome stability in the absence of chlorophyll. Exposing the dark-grown chlL-deletion mutant to light triggered the biosynthesis of chlorophyll. For the first 6 h in the light, upon phycocyanin excitation at 580 nm, the 77K fluorescence emission spectrum of greening cells was identical to that of dark-grown cells that lacked significant amounts of chlorophyll. With increased chlorophyll synthesis, gradual energy transfer from phycobilisomes to the two photosystems can be demonstrated.

Structure and function of PBS model complex

A complex of phycobiliproteins, containing phycoerythrocyanin (PEC), C-phycovyanin (C-PC) and allo-phycocyanin (APC) as well as some linker polypeptides, was reconstructed. The absorption and fluoreacence spectra of the complex were compared with those of native phycobilisomes (PBS) and the phycobiliproteins. Based on the measured data, it can be concluded that the complex can be taken as a model of PBS and is an entirely functional group for excitation energy transfer step by step from peripheral PEC to APC. The single terminal emitter feature of the complex makes it favorable for clarifying energy transfer pathways and the kinetics in comparison with native PBS. Further research is carried on in the lab.

Energy transfer kinetics of phycoerythrocyanins (PECs) from the cyanobacteriumAnabaena variabilis (I)

The exritation energy transfer processes in monomeric phycoerythrocyanins (PEC) have been studied in detail using steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectra techniques as well as the deconvolution tech-nique of spectra. The results indicate that the energy transfer processes should take place between α84,-PVB and β84- or β155-PCB chromophores. the time constants of energy transfer are 34.7 and 130 ps individually; the component with lifetime of 1.57 ns originates from the fluorescence lifetime of the terminal emitter of β84- and /or β155 -PCB chro-mophores; and the component with lifetime of 515 ps might be assigned to the energy transfer between two PCB chro-mophores of β subunit.