PICOSECOND FLUORESCENCE KINETICS and ENERGY TRANSFER IN THE ANTENNA CHLOROPHYLLS OF GREEN ALGAE*

Single-photon timing measurements on flowing samples of Chlorella vulgaris and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii at low excitation intensities at room temperature indicate two main kinetic components of the fluorescence at open reaction centers (F₀) of photosystem II with lifetimes of approx. 130 and 500 ps and relative yields of about 30 and 70%. Closing the reaction centers progressively by preincubation of the algae with increasing concentrations of 3-(3′,4′-dichlorophenyl)-l,l-dimethylurea (DCMU) and hydroxylamine gave rise to a slow component with a lifetime increasing from 1.4 to 2.2 ns (F_max) The yield of the slow component increased to 65-68% of the total fluorescence yield in parallel to a decrease in the yield of the fast component to a value close to zero at the f_max-level. The 130 ps lifetime of the fast component remained unchanged. The middle component showed an increase of its lifetime from 500 to 1100 ps and of its yield by a factor of 1.5. Spacing of the ps laser pulses by 12 μs allowed us to resolve a new long-lived fluorescence component of very small amplitude which is ascribed to a small amount of chlorophyll not connected to functional antennae. The opposite dependence of the yield of the fast and the slow component on the state of the reaction centers at almost constant lifetimes is consistent with a mechanism of energy conversion in largely separately functioning photosystem II units. Yields and lifetimes of these two components are in agreement with the high quantum yield of photosynthesis. The lower lifetime limit of 1.4 ns of the slow component is assigned to the average transfer time of an excited state from a closed to a neighboring open reaction center and the increase in the lifetime to 2.2 ns is evidence for a limited energy transfer between photosystems II. Relative effects of changing the excitation wavelength from 630 to 652 nm on the relative fluorescence yields of the kinetic components were studied at the fluorescence wavelengths 682, 703 and 730 nm. Our data indicate that (i) the middle component has its fluorescence maximum at shorter wavelength than the fast component and (ii) that the antennae chlorophylls giving rise to the middle component are preferentially excited by 652 nm light. It is concluded that the middle component originates from the light-harvesting chlorophyll alb protein complexes and the major portion of the fast component from the chlorophyll a antennae of open photosystem II reaction centers.     

PICOSECOND TIME-RESOLVED EMISSION SPECTRA OF PHOTOINHIBITED AND PHOTOBLEACHED Anabaena variabilis

Abstract— Time resolved emission spectra have been measured of Anabaena variabilis cells which were grown under different light conditions. The spectra of algae photoinhibited with strong white light for 6 h as well as of algae irradiated with blue light are similar to those of the control (weak white light). Cells that were photobleached with strong white light or red light (5 days each) show dramatic changes in their time resolved emission spectra. The contributions of long-lived components to the time resolved emission spectra are large in photobleached cells. In both the reference sample and in photoinhibited cells the short-lived components with lifetimes in the picosecond range prevail which indicates efficient energy transfer within the antenna pigments. The results upon photobleaching are discussed in terms of a functional decoupling of the phycobilisome rods from the core while photoinhibition does not influence the pigment composition and the molecular organization of the antenna pigments.     

EXCITATION ENERGY TRANSFER IN THE LIGHT HARVESTING ANTENNA SYSTEM OF THE RED ALGA Porphyridium cruentum AND THE BLUE-GREEN ALGA Anacystis nidulans: ANALYSIS OF TIME-RESOLVED FLUORESCENCE SPECTRA

Abstract— Time-resolved fluorescence spectra of intact cells of red and blue-green algae Porphyridium cruentum and Anacystis nidulans were measured by means of a ps laser and a time-correlated photon counting system. Fluorescence spectra were observed successively from various pigments in the light harvesting system in the order of phycoerythrin (PE), phycocyanin (PC), allophycocyanin (APC) and chlorophyll a (Chl a ). The spectrum changes with time in the range of0–400 ps in P. cruentum and of0–1000 ps in A. nidulans . The time-resolved spectra were analyzed into components to obtain the rise and decay curve of each fluorescence component. Overall time behaviors of the sequential fluorescence emissions from various pigments can be interpreted with a decay kinetics ofexp(–2 kt ^½). The rate constants of the energy transfer show that the energy transfer takes place much faster in the red alga P. cruentum than in the blue-green alga A. nidulans , particularly in the step PCAPC. Results also indicated that a special form of APC, far-emitting APC, exists in the pigment system of A. nidulans , but it does not mediate a main energy transfer from phycobilisome to Chl a.     

EXCITATION ENERGY TRANSFER IN THE CHROMATICALLY ADAPTED PHYCOBILIN SYSTEMS OF BLUE-GREEN ALGAE: DIFFERENCE IN THE ENERGY TRANSFER KINETICS AT PHYCOCYANIN LEVEL

Abstract— Excitation energy transfer in chromatically adapted phycobilin system was investigated with the blue-green algae Tolypothrix tenuis and, supplementary, Fremyella diplosiphon with use of time-resolved fluorescence spectrum (Yamazaki et al , 1984). Special attention was paid to the energy migration at the phycocyanin (PC) level in the phycoerythrin (PE)-rich and PE excited system and in the PE-less and PC excited system. The energy transfer from PC to allophycocyanin was far faster in the former than in the latter in both organisms. Such feature was the same as our previous observation for PE-rich system of Porphyridium cruentum and PE-less system of Anacystis nidulans (Yamazaki et al , 1984). Thus, the difference in phycobilisome structure is not a cause for such difference. Based on simulation analysis, we interpreted our observation as that (1) all PC chtomophores do not equally participate to the energy migration within PC compartment but (2) a short transfer path through PC compartment is formed probably by f-type chromophores and (3) the difference in the "length" of this path is a main determinant for kinetic difference between PE-rich and PE-less systems.     

NON-INVASIVE TECHNIQUE FOR OBTAINING FLUORESCENCE EXCITATION AND EMISSION SPECTRA IN VIVO

An intensified photodiode array forms the heart of a sensitive spectrophotofluorometry system that permits the rapid and non-invasive determination of fluorescence emission spectra in the skin of living, non-anesthetized animals. Using this system, we found it possible to obtain good emission and excitation spectra of the material responsible for the weak red fluorescence that characterizes normal mouse skin, and to follow the biosynthesis and subsequent clearance of protoporphyrin IX in the skin of non-anesthetized mice that had been given various doses of the porphyrin precursor 5-aminolevulinic acid.     

ENERGY TRANSFER IN TRIMERIC C-PHYCOCYANIN STUDIED BY PICOSECOND FLUORESCENCE KINETICS

Abstract— The excited state kinetics of trimeric C-phycocyanin from Mastigocladus laminosus has been measured as a function of the emission and excitation wavelength by the single-photon timing technique with picosecond resolution and simultaneous data analysis. A fast decay component of 22 ps (C-phycocyanin with linker peptides) and 36 ps (C-phycocyanin lacking linker peptides) is attributed to efficient energy transfer from sensitizing to fluorescing chromophores. At long detection wavelengths the fast decay components are found to turn into a rise term. This finding further corroborates the concept of intramolecular energy transfer. Previous reports on the conformational heterogeneity of the chromophores and/or proteins in C-phycocyanin are confirmed. Our data also provide indications for the importance of the uncoloured linker peptides for this heterogeneity.     

ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF NANOSECOND TIME-RESOLVED EMISSION SPECTRA

Abstract Two common methods of obtaining nanosecond time-resolved spectra (TRES) are compared. TRES measured directly are distorted owing to convolution of the fluorescence signal with the exciting pulse but can be obtained with ease. Undistorted TRES, constructed from deconvoluted decay curves, suffer from poor spectral resolution, require much experimental and computation time to produce and may not be completely free from distortions. Nevertheless, they must be used for quantitative calculations. It is recommended that the method of obtaining TRES should be determined by the type of information required.     

PICOSECOND FLUORESCENCE AND ELECTRON TRANSFER IN PRIMARY PHOTOSYNTHETIC PROCESSES

Abstract. Under conditions that drive the reaction centers (RC's) into the "closed" state, the lifetime ( T ) of the fluorescence emitted by antenna molecules increases from 80 to 200 ps in PS I, from 300 to 600 ps in PS II, and from 200 to 500 ps in bacterial chromatophores. In Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides strain 1760-1, the decay curve for fluorescence from the RC's has a component with T ₂= 15 ps due to the bacteriochlorophyll of the RC, and a second component with T ₂= 250 ps due to bacteriopheophytin.
Data on electron transfer at low temperatures and under different redox conditions are analyzed. along with the ps fluorescence kinetics. The hypothesis is discussed that electron transfer in RC's is coupled to conformation changes in the interacting molecules.     

ENERGY TRANSFER AMONG THE CHROMOPHORES OF C-PHYCOCYANIN FROM Anabaena variabilis USING STEADY STATE AND TIME-RESOLVED FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY

Abstract We have investigated the model of energy transfer between sensitizing (s) and fluorescing (f) chromophores for the αβ monomer and for the separated α and β subunits of C-phycocyanin from Anabaena variabilis using fluorescence emission spectroscopy, fluorescence excitation polarization, and picosecond-resolved fluorescence decay kinetics. The fluorescence emission maximum occurs at 640 nm for all samples. The fluorescence excitation polarization is constant ( P = 0.40) across the absorption hand for the α subunit, but it increases across the absorption band towards longer wavelength for the β subunit and the αβ monomer. The fluorescence decay kinetics exhibit two exponential lifetimes of 1.3-1.5 ns and 340-500 ps for the αβ monomer and for the α and β subunit preparations.
We attribute the change in polarization across the absorption band to energy transfer among the three chromophores in the αβ monomer and among the two chromophores in the separated β subunit. The constant, relatively high polarization in the separated a subunit, having only one chromophore, is consistent with the absence of both energy transfer and chromophore rotation. The concentration of the α subunit did not affect the decay kinetics, suggesting that the short lifetime component does not arise from aggregation of the α subunits. The biexponential decay kinetics of the α subunit cannot be explained using the sensitizing-fluorescing model. The possibility of conformational interactions is under investigation.     

STUDIES ON ENERGY DISSIPATION IN PHYCOBILISOMES USING THE KENNARD-STEPANOV RELATION BETWEEN ABSORPTION AND FLUORESCENCE EMISSION SPECTRA

Absorption and fluorescence emission spectra were measured at room temperature ( ca. 22°C) for solutions of phycocyanin-1, phycocyanin-2 and allophycocyanin from Phormidium luridum , and also for phycobilisome preparations from various blue-green algae ( Anabaena variabilis, Nostoc muscorum strain A, Nostoc sp. strain Mac, Phormidium luridum ). Kennard-Stepanov (KS) temperatures ( T ) were computed using the Kennard-Stepanov relationship F () = b A () ^-5 exp(-h/ kT ), where F () stands for fluorescence (energy per wavelength interval) as a function of wavelength (), A () is absorbance as a function of wavelength, b a proportionality factor, and h, c and k are Planck's constant, the velocity of light and Boltzmann's constant, respectively.
In most cases experimenta/ data followed the expected relationship, but at low ionic strength allophycocyanin gave a clearly biphasic KS plot, i.e. In ⁵ F ()/ A () vs 1/. This could be due to the presence of both monomers and trimers in the sample at low ionic strength.
For purified allophycocyanin and phycocyanins (PC-1 and PC-2) as well as phycobilisomes from Phormidium luridum , the KS temperatures were only slightly (insignificantly) elevated above the sample temperature. Thus, after absorption of a photon, vibrational and configurational equilibration is essentially completed before emission of the fluorescence photon takes place.
For phycobilisomes from Anabaena variabilis and the two Nostoc species the KS temperatures were moderately elevated. Since there was no correlation between radiation temperature and excitation wavelength, the elevation is not due to excess (undissipated) vibrational energy, but rather to incomplete configurational equilibration.     

TIME-RESOLVED FLUORESCENCE SPECTRA OF TRYPTOPHAN IN MONOMERIC GLUCAGON*

Abstract— The fluorescence decay of tryptophan-25 in monomeric glucagon at pH 8.2 was measured at a series of emission wavelengths using pulsed laser excitation and single photon counting techniques. Double exponential kinetics were consistently observed, with time constants 3.26 and 1.11 ns. This allowed the steady-state emission spectrum to be resolved into two components with differing intensities but similar emission maxima near 350 nm. Decay parameters were almost unchanged in the presence of 5.5 M guanidinium chloride. The dual emission is thought to reflect different conformers of the indole ring or of the peptide chain.     

COHERENT MOTION AND TRANSFER OF EXCITATION ENERGY IN THE PRIMARY PROCESSES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS

Fluorescence decay curves are calculated within the framework of the Liouville von Neumann equation for simple model systems of a photosynthetic unit consisting of a reaction center coupled to either a linear chain or a hexagonal array of identical antenna pigments. A comparison of the results with those obtained by solving the Pauli Master equations reveals that in the case of coherent excitation energy transfer the fluorescence decay kinetics exhibit a strong dependence on the topological array of the antenna pigments. For systems with a different pigment array, markedly different kinetics can be expected upon decreasing the pure dephasing time.     

OBSERVATION OF THE PICOSECOND TIME-RESOLVED SPECTRUM OF SQUID BATHORHODOPSIN AT ROOM TEMPERATURE

Difference spectra between squid rhodopsin and its bathorhodopsin at room temperature were measured ca. 150 ps and ca. 500 ps after the excitation at 347.2 nm by a double-beam picosecond time-resolved spectrometer. The spectra measured showed a red shift of the isosbestic point between squid rhodopsin and its bathorhodopsin and a lower ΔA_max/ΔA_min value compared with those measured at low temperatures by conventional spectrophotometry.     

IS ZEAXANTHIN CAPABLE OF ENERGY TRANSFER TO CHLOROPHYLL a IN PARTIALLY GREENED LEAVES? A STUDY OF FLUORESCENCE EXCITATION SPECTRA DURING VIOLAXANTHIN DEEPOXIDATION

Absorbance spectra and excitation spectra of chlorophyll a fluoresence were recorded during the light-induced deepoxidation of violaxauthin to zeaxanthin in bean leaves (Phaseolus coccineus) greened under intermittent light. Light minus dark fluorescence excitation difference spectra showed distinct minima at 440, 465, and 500 nm corresponding to maxima in the absorbance difference spectra. Both difference spectra were prevented by the deepoxidase inhibitor dithiothreitol and were inverted when zeaxanthin was epoxidized. The fluorescence excitation difference spectra were successfully modeled by considering the absorbance differences between violaxanthin and zeaxanthin, assuming no energy transfer from the two pigments to chlorophyll a, and accounting for light-induced scattering changes. The pigment stoichiometry and the scattering changes of the simulation were in accordance with experimental data. The results indicate that, in the early stage of leaf development, light absorbed by the cycle pigments violaxanthin and zeaxanthin is not transferred to chlorophyll.     

ESTIMATION OF ENERGY DISTRIBUTION AND REDISTRIBUTION AMONG TWO PHOTOSYSTEMS USING PARALLEL MEASUREMENTS OF FLUORESCENCE LIFETIMES AND TRANSIENTS AT 77 K

Abstract— A single-sample method for estimating energy distribution and redistribution among the two photosystems using fluorescence lifetimes and transients at 77 K is presented. In this method,α(the fraction of photons absorbed by photosystem I, PSI) is F_1(α)/(F_1(α)+ (τ_{F 1(M)}/τ_{F 2(M)}).F_2(M)) where, F_1(α) is the fluorescence intensity from PSI excited by photons initially absorbed by the latter, τ_{F 1(M)} and τ_{F 2(M)} are the maximum lifetimes of fluorescence from chlorophyll- a in PSI (1) and II (2), and, F_2(M) is the maximum fluorescence intensity from PSII (P level). Analysis of the intensities and lifetimes of wavelength resolved fluorescence of thylakoids (pH 7.0), with and without cations, leads to the following conclusions: The addition of 10 m M Na⁺ to cation-depleted thylakoids (pH 7.0) increases α by ˜ 10%, while the subsequent addition of 10 m M Mg²⁺ leads to three principal concomitant changes (in the order of importance): a 50% decrease in PSII to PSI energy transfer, a 20% increase in other radiation-less losses, and a 10% decrease in α.     

ENERGY TRANSFER AND PHOTOOXIDATION KINETICS IN REACTION CENTERS ON THE PICOSECOND TIME SCALE

Abstract— Picosecond 530 nm actinic and 1242 nm probe light pulses have been used to measure the kinetics of energy transfer and photooxidation in Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides R-26 reaction centers. The energy transfer rate between bacteriopheophytin and the bacteriochlorophyll dimer is 1.0 ± 0.3 ± 10¹¹s^-land photooxidation of the dimer occurs within 5 ps after the dimer reaches the first excited singlet state. Using these parameters in a simple model we are able to explain the odd result that the number of reaction centers oxidized by a saturating 530 nm actinic picopulse is only 60% of the number oxidized by a saturating CW light source.     

EXCITATION ENERGY TRANSFER IN SYSTEMS OF MANY MOLECULES

Abstract— Förster's theory of energy transfer in condensed systems is re-examined in the light of recent criticisms. It is concluded that his approach is correct and holds for a wide range of donor and quencher concentrations as long as there is no transfer among donor molecules. In contrast, the modified result of Tweet, Bellamy and Gaines, holds only for complete delocalization of the excitation among the donor molecules.     

SENSITIZATION OF THE PHOSPHORESCENCE OF INDOLE THROUGH INTRAMOLECULAR ENERGY TRANSFER FROM THE TRIPLET STATE OF COVALENTLY LINKED ACETOPHENONE IN RIGID MEDIA AT 77 K

Abstract— In an attempt to study the quenching of the triplet state of acetophenone by indole, we have prepared the compounds containing these chromophores intramolecularly. The emission measurements in rigid glasses at 77 K have indicated that the quenching of the triplet acetophenone is due to intramolecular triplet-triplet energy transfer to the indole chromophore, resulting in the sensitization of the indole phosphorescence. The efficiency of the energy transfer has reached ca. 100% in ethanol glasses, while it has been suggested that in methylcyclohexane glasses, the indole chromophore except for 1-methyl derivative is subjected to strong interaction with the acetophenone chromophore other than electronic energy transfer.     

LIGHT-INDUCED QUENCHING OF PHOTOSYSTEM II FLUORESCENCE AT 77 K

Abstract— Light-induced quenching of the low temperature fluorescence emission from photosystem II (PS II) at 695 nm ( F ₆₉₅) has been observed in chloroplasts and whole leaves of spinach. Photosystem I (PS I) fluorescence emission at 735 nm ( F ₇₃₅) is quenched to a lesser degree but this quenching is thought to originate from PS II and is manifest in a reduced amount of excitation energy available for spillover to PS I. Differential quenching of these two fluorescence emissions leads to an increase in the F ₇₃₅/ F ₆₈₅ ratio on exposure to light at 77 K. Rewarming the sample from -196°C discharges the thermoluminescence Z-band and much of the original unquenched fluorescence is recovered. The relationship between the thermoluminescence Z-band and the quenching of the low temperature fluorescence emission ( F ₆₉₅) is discussed with respect to the formation of reduced pheophytin in the PS II reaction center at 77 K.