Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Dan-Hong Li, Wenda Wang, Cuicui Zhou, Yan Zhang, Songhao Zhao, Yi-Ming Zhou, Rong-Yao Gao, Hai-Dan Yao, Li-Min Fu, Peng Wang, Jian-Ren Shen, Tingyun Kuang, Jian-Ping Zhang
Summary: The light-harvesting complex II (LHCII) of Bryopsis corticulans differs in chlorophyll and carotenoid compositions from that of spinach. Using time-resolved absorption spectroscopy, we investigated the ultrafast excitation dynamics of B-LHCII. Our results showed rapid photogeneration of Chl-Chl charge transfer (CT) species and revealed the transfer of singlet excitation between different chlorophyll and carotenoid molecules. The induction of Chl-Chl CT species by red-light excitation is a common occurrence for LHCIIs in light-harvesting form, as observed in S-LHCII.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Meizhen Jiang, Yumeng Men, Yuanyuan Zhang, Lin Cheng, Yang Wang, Tianqing Jia, Zhenrong Sun, Donghai Feng
Summary: The electron spin dynamics in CdS quantum dots (QDs) with hole acceptor 1-octanethiol organic molecules were investigated using time-resolved ellipticity spectroscopy. An anomalous dependence of laser fluences on electron spin excitation was observed for the first time. It was found that increasing the laser fluence can switch the electron spin direction from heavy hole excitation to spin-orbit split hole excitation when enough 1-octanethiol hole acceptors are added in an air atmosphere.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
He Zheng, Yong-Chao Zheng, Yan Cui, Jian-Jun Zhu, Jin-Yi Zhong
Summary: This study investigated the structural changes of DhaA in acetonitrile and tetrahydrofuran solvents through molecular dynamics simulation. The results showed that different solvents can have varying effects on the key domains and catalytic pocket of the enzyme.
JOURNAL OF BIOMOLECULAR STRUCTURE & DYNAMICS
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Minjung Son, Stephanie M. Hart, Gabriela S. Schlau-Cohen
Summary: Carotenoids serve multiple functions in photosynthesis, such as light harvesting, photoprotection, and structural stabilization, due to their unique electronic structure with dark excited states that can be modulated by physical and chemical changes. Researchers focused on the light-harvesting complexes (LHCs) in purple bacteria, green plants, and marine algae, which utilize different carotenoid molecules to optimize their photophysics for survival and fitness. Recent developments in 2D electronic spectroscopy have enabled the investigation of the ultrafast photophysical mechanisms underlying carotenoid-mediated energy transfer and energy dissipation in photosynthesis.
TRENDS IN CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Debashish Paul, Anirban Paul, Dipanjan Mukherjee, Saroj Saroj, Manorama Ghosal, Suchetan Pal, Dulal Senapati, Jaydeb Chakrabarti, Samir Kumar Pal, Tatini Rakshit
Summary: This study used single-molecule force spectroscopy to investigate the length of a carbohydrate polymer, hyaluronan, on the surface of cancer cells and found the presence of low molecular weight hyaluronan. They also discovered that these hyaluronan-covered extracellular vesicles from cancer cells have greater elasticity compared to those from normal cells. The intrinsic elasticity of these cancer EVs is directly associated with the abundance of low molecular weight hyaluronan and the labile water network on their surface.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Albin Hedse, Alex Arash Sand Kalaee, Andreas Wacker, Tonu Pullerits
Summary: The double quantum coherence (DQC) signal in nonlinear spectroscopy provides information about many-body correlation effects that are difficult to obtain through other methods. Contrary to intuition, pulse overlap-related artifacts are not filtered out by the Fourier transform. Careful analysis of experiments is necessary to account for the pulse-overlap artifact.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yu-Chen Wei, Liang-Yan Hsu
Summary: This article demonstrates that quantum electrodynamic (QED) effects can significantly enhance the rate of electron transfer (ET) without the use of cavities. By incorporating the effect of infinite one-photon states into Marcus theory and introducing the concept of electron transfer overlap, the study provides new insights into the involvement of cavity-free QED effects in ET reactions.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Isa Sidir, Yadigar Gulseven Sidir, Halil Berber, Rui Fausto
Summary: A novel o-hydroxyaryl Schiff base bearing a 1,2,4-triazole heterocyclic core was synthesized and characterized using NMR, IR spectroscopies, and DFT calculations. UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopies were then used to study the compound's behavior in different solvents, with wavelength shifts observed due to solvent-induced conformational changes and tautomerism. The experimental results were supported by structural data and solvatochromic models.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR STRUCTURE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
V. S. Manu, Cristina Olivieri, Gianluigi Veglia
Summary: The authors utilized an evolutionary algorithm and artificial intelligence to design new 2D biomolecular NMR experiments, speeding up the acquisition of large biomolecular spectra. This method allows analysis of poorly soluble or unstable macromolecules and their kinetics of aggregation and oligomerization. The authors also laid the foundation for accelerating multidimensional NMR experiments at high and ultra-high magnetic fields.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Elizete Ventura, Silmar Andrade do Monte, Mariana T. do Casal, Max Pinheiro, Josene Maria Toldo, Mario Barbatti
Summary: In this work, the ab initio nonadiabatic dynamics of cytosine in different solvents were simulated, and the heating and cooling times were analyzed using an analytical energy-transfer model. The results showed that cytosine heats up in a subpicosecond timescale and cools down fastest in water solvent.
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Sulejman Skoko, Cosimo Micheletti, Emanuele Grifoni, Franco Egidi, Tommaso Giovannini, Andrea Pucci, Chiara Cappelli
Summary: We propose a synergistic computational/experimental investigation of fluorescence spectra in aqueous solution. We develop a reliable and cost-effective computational protocol that accurately describes the solute-solvent interactions and takes into account both specific hydrogen bonding interactions and the dynamical aspects of solvation in ground and excited states. The computational protocol is successfully tested against experimentally measured spectra of water soluble fluorescent dyes, demonstrating its reliability and paving the way for cost-effective investigation of solvated systems' ES properties.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Anh D. Phan
Summary: This work develops a new theoretical model to investigate the glassy dynamics in metallic glass thin films. The study finds that the thickness of the films has a significant impact on the spatial gradient of structural relaxation time and glass transition temperature. Moreover, reducing the film thickness enhances the dynamic coupling between two surfaces and makes the gradient of the glass transition temperature more uniform. These findings are important for understanding the properties of metallic glass thin films.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY B
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Pallab Dutta, Priti Roy, Neelanjana Sengupta
Summary: Protein folding is an intricate process influenced by various physicochemical factors. Understanding the relationship between these factors and protein structure-function is crucial for addressing proteopathic diseases and developing biotechnological applications.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
George A. Sutherland, James P. Pidgeon, Harrison Ka Hin Lee, Matthew S. Proctor, Andrew Hitchcock, Shuangqing Wang, Dimitri Chekulaev, Wing Chung Tsoi, Matthew P. Johnson, C. Neil Hunter, Jenny Clark
Summary: Singlet exciton fission is the process of generating two triplet excited states from a singlet state. Previous studies suggested that intramolecular singlet fission occurs only in protein complexes with twisted carotenoid molecules. In this research, we studied a one-carotenoid system, the orange carotenoid protein (OCP), and found no evidence of intramolecular singlet fission despite the twist in the carotenoid molecule.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
Jing Xi, Peipei Cen, Yan Guo, Yuzhu Li, Yuanyuan Qin, Yi-Quan Zhang, Weiming Song, Xiangyu Liu
Summary: The reversible single-crystal-to-single-crystal conversion of PBP Dy(III) complexes has been achieved, providing insights into the magnetic switches with fascinating transformation processes.
DALTON TRANSACTIONS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Ryo Nagao, Makio Yokono, Yoshifumi Ueno, Jian-Ren Shen, Seiji Akimoto
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY B
(2020)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ryo Nagao, Makio Yokono, Yoshifumi Ueno, Takehiro Suzuki, Koji Kato, Ka-Ho Kato, Naoki Tsuboshita, Tian-Yi Jiang, Naoshi Dohmae, Jian-Ren Shen, Shigeki Ehira, Seiji Akimoto
Summary: IsiAs are proteins expressed in cyanobacteria under iron-deficient conditions, surrounding the photosystem I trimer with a ring formation. The study found that the PSI-IsiA1 supercomplex is present in the wild-type under iron-replete conditions, while IsiA2 and IsiA3 bind to PSI monomer in the ΔisiA1 mutant under iron-deficient conditions. These findings provide insights into the multiple-expression system of the IsiA family in this cyanobacterium.
BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ryo Nagao, Makio Yokono, Yoshifumi Ueno, Ka-Ho Kato, Naoki Tsuboshita, Jian-Ren Shen, Seiji Akimoto
Summary: Photosynthetic organisms have evolved various light-harvesting complexes (LHCs) to efficiently collect solar energy and occupy ecological niches. This study investigated the biochemical and spectroscopic properties of fucoxanthin chlorophyll a/c-binding protein (FCP) complexes from Glossomastix chrysoplasta, revealing differences in fluorescence response of FCP under different pH conditions, particularly alterations in energy-transfer pathways under basic pH conditions. These findings provide new insights into pH-dependent energy-transfer and energy-quenching mechanisms in FCP and photosynthetic LHCs.
BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Shinsa Kameo, Michiki Aso, Ryo Furukawa, Renon Matsumae, Makio Yokono, Tomomichi Fujita, Ayumi Tanaka, Ryouichi Tanaka, Atsushi Takabayashi
Summary: Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) is a powerful technique for protein complex separation, particularly useful in photosynthetic research. The optimization of amphipol-based CN-PAGE can improve protein complex stability and help resolve photosynthetic machinery. Amphipol-based CN-PAGE may be a better alternative to DOC-based CN-PAGE for studying labile protein complexes.
PLANT AND CELL PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ryo Nagao, Makio Yokono, Yoshifumi Ueno, Takehiro Suzuki, Minoru Kumazawa, Ka-Ho Kato, Naoki Tsuboshita, Naoshi Dohmae, Kentaro Ifuku, Jian-Ren Shen, Seiji Akimoto
Summary: Photosynthetic organisms adjust pigment composition and molecular oligomerization of light-harvesting complexes in response to solar light intensities to enhance light-harvesting efficiency. This study investigated the excitation-energy dynamics and relaxation of FCP complexes isolated from a diatom grown under high-light conditions, revealing differences in subunit composition, oligomeric states, absorption and fluorescence spectra, as well as fluorescence decay-associated spectra between high-light and low-light conditions. Shorter lifetime components and alterations of energy-transfer pathways were observed in FCP complexes under high-light conditions, providing insights into the dynamic regulation mechanisms of FCPs in diatoms under excess-light conditions.
BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Ryo Nagao, Makio Yokono, Ka-Ho Kato, Yoshifumi Ueno, Jian-Ren Shen, Seiji Akimoto
Summary: Photosynthetic organisms, such as the green flagellate Euglena gracilis, adjust their pigment compositions and energy transfer processes to deal with excess energy under high-light conditions. The study found that in Euglena cells exposed to high-light, there was suppression of excitation-energy transfer and rapid energy quenching, indicating modification of excitation-energy-relaxation processes in addition to pigment compositions for photoprotection strategies.
PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ryo Nagao, Makio Yokono, Yoshifumi Ueno, Yoshiki Nakajima, Takehiro Suzuki, Ka-Ho Kato, Naoki Tsuboshita, Naoshi Dohmae, Jian-Ren Shen, Shigeki Ehira, Seiji Akimoto
Summary: Heterocysts are formed in filamentous heterocystous cyanobacteria under nitrogen-starvation conditions and have a lower amount of photosystem II (PSII) complexes compared to vegetative cells. Investigations on heterocysts have shown almost no PSII complexes but the presence of PSI complexes in the thylakoids. Analysis of fluorescence spectra and excitation-energy-relaxation processes in heterocysts revealed differences in fluorescence characteristics of PSII and PSI compared to vegetative thylakoids.
BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ryo Nagao, Koji Kato, Minoru Kumazawa, Kentaro Ifuku, Makio Yokono, Takehiro Suzuki, Naoshi Dohmae, Fusamichi Akita, Seiji Akimoto, Naoyuki Miyazaki, Jian-Ren Shen
Summary: The structure of Fucoxanthin chlorophyll a/c-binding proteins (FCPs) in diatoms has been successfully identified using cryo-electron microscopy, revealing their positions and the complexity of the pigment network. Time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy also provides insights into the excitation-energy transfer process from FCPs to photosystem II.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Koji Kato, Ryo Nagao, Yoshifumi Ueno, Makio Yokono, Takehiro Suzuki, Tian-Yi Jiang, Naoshi Dohmae, Fusamichi Akita, Seiji Akimoto, Naoyuki Miyazaki, Jian-Ren Shen
Summary: This study provides insights into the tetrameric structure of PSI from a glaucophyte alga, revealing evolutionary changes in subunit composition and excitation-energy transfer.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Koji Kato, Tasuku Hamaguchi, Ryo Nagao, Keisuke Kawakami, Yoshifumi Ueno, Takehiro Suzuki, Hiroko Uchida, Akio Murakami, Yoshiki Nakajima, Makio Yokono, Seiji Akimoto, Naoshi Dohmae, Koji Yonekura, Jian-Ren Shen
Summary: By analyzing the structure of a PSI trimer from the ancient cyanobacterium Gloeobacter violaceus PCC 7421, we discovered two low-energy chlorophylls that are missing in this organism, shedding light on the evolutionary changes of low-energy chlorophylls in oxygenic photosynthetic organisms.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Eunchul Kim, Hisako Kubota-Kawai, Fumihiro Kawai, Makio Yokono, Jun Minagawa
Summary: By comparing the LHCII trimers from different photosystem supercomplexes, this study found distinct conformational differences depending on the binding location, which may modulate the function of LHCII and affect excitation-energy flow in the photosynthetic supercomplex.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY B
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Soichirou Satoh, Rei Tanaka, Makio Yokono, Daiji Endoh, Tetsuo Yabuki, Ayumi Tanaka
Summary: Environmental factors affect the growth of microorganisms and alter the composition of microbiota. This study developed a method to compare whole proteomes deduced from metagenomic sequencing data and quantitatively display their phylogenetic relationships. The method successfully classified metagenomic data and identified principal environmental factors for the establishment of microbial communities.
Article
Biology
Asako Ishii, Jianyu Shan, Xin Sheng, Eunchul Kim, Akimasa Watanabe, Makio Yokono, Chiyo Noda, Chihong Song, Kazuyoshi Murata, Zhenfeng Liu, Jun Minagawa, David M. Kramer
Summary: Under low light conditions, Ostreococcus tauri assembles its photosystem I (PSI) supercomplex with light-harvesting complexes I (LHCI) and a prasinophyte-specific light-harvesting complex (Lhcp), expanding its photon-absorbing capacity. The structure of the supercomplex exhibits hybrid features of plant-type and green algal-type PSI supercomplexes. The formation of this supercomplex is likely induced by changes in light intensity through phosphorylation.
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Makio Yokono, Eunchul Kim, Jun Minagawa
BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Biophysics
Eunchul Kim, Hisako Kubota-Kawai, Fumihiro Kawai, Makio Yokono, Jun Minagawa
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2023)
