A leap in quantum efficiency through light harvesting in photoreceptor UVR8

Xiankun Li; Haisheng Ren; Mainak Kundu; Zheyun Liu; Frank W. Zhong; Lijuan Wang; Jiali Gao; Dongping Zhong

doi:10.1038/s41467-020-17838-6

Nature Communications (Aug 2020)

A leap in quantum efficiency through light harvesting in photoreceptor UVR8

Xiankun Li,
Haisheng Ren,
Mainak Kundu,
Zheyun Liu,
Frank W. Zhong,
Lijuan Wang,
Jiali Gao,
Dongping Zhong

Affiliations

Xiankun Li: Department of Physics, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Programs of Biophysics, Chemical Physics and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University
Haisheng Ren: Department of Chemistry and Supercomputing Institute, University of Minnesota
Mainak Kundu: Department of Physics, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Programs of Biophysics, Chemical Physics and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University
Zheyun Liu: Department of Physics, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Programs of Biophysics, Chemical Physics and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University
Frank W. Zhong: Department of Physics, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Programs of Biophysics, Chemical Physics and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University
Lijuan Wang: Department of Physics, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Programs of Biophysics, Chemical Physics and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University
Jiali Gao: Department of Chemistry and Supercomputing Institute, University of Minnesota
Dongping Zhong: Department of Physics, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Programs of Biophysics, Chemical Physics and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17838-6
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 1 – 9

Abstract

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Photoreceptor UVR8 in plants senses environmental UV levels through 26 structural tryptophan residues, but the role of 18 of them was unknown. The authors show, by experiments and computations, how these form a light-harvesting network that funnels the excitation to the pyramid centers enhancing the light-perception efficiency.

Published in Nature Communications

ISSN: 2041-1723 (Online)
Publisher: Nature Portfolio
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science
Website: https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

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