Circular dichroism (CD) study of peridinin–chlorophyll a protein (PCP) complexes from marine dinoflagellate algae The tetramer approach

Abstract

The absorption and circular dichroism spectra of PCP (peridinin–chlorophyll a protein) light-harvesting complexes from Glenodiniumsp. and Gonyaulaxpolyedra are studied in terms of vibronic coupling theory. Analysis based on a tetramer model allows the determination of the relative positions of peridinin molecules in the PCP complexes studied. The tetrameric arrangementof four peridinins around the chlorophyll a is suggested to favour the efficient transfer of energy from the peridinin to thechlorophyll. The simple arguments presented suggest that the energy transfer from peridin to chlorophyll might occur from theΨ_1± states of the peridinin tetramer to the B_x, and B_y states of the chlorophyll a.