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2015 ; 5
(3
): 20140088
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Principles of light harvesting from single photosynthetic complexes
#MMPMID26052423
Schlau-Cohen GS
Interface Focus
2015[Jun]; 5
(3
): 20140088
PMID26052423
show ga
Photosynthetic systems harness sunlight to power most life on Earth. In the
initial steps of photosynthetic light harvesting, absorbed energy is converted to
chemical energy with near-unity quantum efficiency. This is achieved by an
efficient, directional and regulated flow of energy through a network of
proteins. Here, we discuss the following three key principles of this flow and of
photosynthetic light harvesting: thermal fluctuations of the protein structure;
intrinsic conformational switches with defined functional consequences; and
environmentally triggered conformational switches. Through these principles,
photosynthetic systems balance two types of operational costs: metabolic costs,
or the cost of maintaining and running the molecular machinery, and opportunity
costs, or the cost of losing any operational time. Understanding how the
molecular machinery and dynamics are designed to balance these costs may provide
a blueprint for improved artificial light-harvesting devices. With a
multi-disciplinary approach combining knowledge of biology, this blueprint could
lead to low-cost and more effective solar energy conversion. Photosynthetic
systems achieve widespread light harvesting across the Earth's surface; in the
face of our growing energy needs, this is functionality we need to replicate, and
perhaps emulate.