Biological Advantage of the Arrangements of C-Phycocyanin Chromophores in Phycobilisome from the Electronic Energy Transfer Viewpoint

Abstract

Abstract In the present study, we report the electronic energy transfer (EET) rate and the EET dynamics in the hexamer of C-phycocyanin (C-PC). The EET rate for the Förster theory was calculated by a quantum chemical method and a master equation was used to describe the dynamics. Our calculation results suggest that the natural arrangements of phycocyanobilin (PCB) chromophores α84, β84, and β155 in C-PC are cooperatively well-adjusted to achieve the shortest EET time-length. It is the appropriate regular periodicity of the intermolecular distances and intermolecular angles of the ground and the first excited transition dipole moments of PCBs α84, β84, and β155, i.e., the three-fold symmetry and stacking order of their layers found in terrestrial plants and algae, that are some of the most important requisites in achieving such a highly efficient EET in PBS.