A red-shifted chlorophyll

Min Chen*, Martin Schliep, Robert D. Willows, Zheng Li Cai, Brett A. Neilan, Hugo Scheer

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    439 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Chlorophylls are essential for light-harvesting and energy transduction in photosynthesis. Four chemically distinct varieties have been known for the past 60 years. Here we report isolation of a fifth, which we designate chlorophyll f. Its in vitro absorption (706 nanometers) and fluorescence (722 nanometers) maxima are red-shifted compared to all other chlorophylls from oxygenic phototrophs. On the basis of the optical, mass, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, we propose that chlorophyll f is [2-formyl]-chlorophyll a (C 55H70O6N4Mg). This finding suggests that oxygenic photosynthesis can be extended further into the infrared region and may open associated bioenergy applications.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1318-1319
    Number of pages2
    JournalScience
    Volume329
    Issue number5997
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 10 Sept 2010

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