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Phycobilisome
Phycobilisomes are light-harvesting antennae that transmit the energy of harvested photons to photosystem II and photosystem I in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of red algae and glaucophytes. They were lost during the evolution of the chloroplasts of green algae and plants. General structure Phycobilisomes are protein complexes (up to 600 polypeptides) anchored to thylakoid membranes. They are made of stacks of chromophorylated proteins, the phycobiliproteins, and their associated linker polypeptides. Each phycobilisome consists of a core made of allophycocyanin, from which several outwardly oriented rods made of stacked disks of phycocyanin and (if present) phycoerythrin(s) or phycoerythrocyanin. The spectral property of phycobiliproteins are mainly dictated by their prosthetic groups, which are linear tetrapyrroles known as phycobilins including phycocyanobilin, phycoerythrobilin, phycourobilin and phycobiliviolin. The spectral properties of a given phyco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chloroplast
A chloroplast () is a type of membrane-bound organelle, organelle known as a plastid that conducts photosynthesis mostly in plant cell, plant and algae, algal cells. Chloroplasts have a high concentration of chlorophyll pigments which capture the Radiant energy, energy from sunlight and convert it to chemical energy and release oxygen. The chemical energy created is then used to make sugar and other organic molecules from carbon dioxide in a process called the Calvin cycle. Chloroplasts carry out a number of other functions, including fatty acid synthesis, amino acid synthesis, and the immune response in plants. The number of chloroplasts per cell varies from one, in some unicellular algae, up to 100 in plants like ''Arabidopsis'' and wheat. Chloroplasts are highly dynamic—they circulate and are moved around within cells. Their behavior is strongly influenced by environmental factors like light color and intensity. Chloroplasts cannot be made anew by the plant cell and must ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phycoerythrin
Phycoerythrin (PE) is a red protein-pigment complex from the light-harvesting phycobiliprotein family, present in cyanobacteria, red algae and Cryptomonad, cryptophytes, accessory to the main chlorophyll pigments responsible for photosynthesis.The red pigment is due to the prosthetic group, phycoerythrobilin, which gives phycoerythrin its red color. Like all phycobiliproteins, it is composed of a protein part covalently binding chromophores called phycobilins. In the phycoerythrin family, the most known phycobilins are: phycoerythrobilin, the typical phycoerythrin acceptor chromophore. Phycoerythrobilin is a linear tetrapyrrole molecule found in cyanobacteria, red algae, and cryptomonads. Together with other bilins such as phycocyanobilin it serves as a light-harvesting pigment in the photosynthetic light-harvesting structures of cyanobacteria called phycobilisomes. Phycoerythrins are composed of (αβ) monomers, usually organised in a disk-shaped Protein quaternary structure, trim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phycobiliprotein
Phycobiliproteins are water-soluble proteins present in cyanobacteria and certain algae (rhodophytes, cryptomonads, glaucocystophytes). They capture light energy, which is then passed on to chlorophylls during photosynthesis. Phycobiliproteins are formed of a complex between proteins and covalently bound phycobilins that act as chromophores (the light-capturing part). They are most important constituents of the phycobilisomes. Major phycobiliproteins Characteristics Phycobiliproteins demonstrate superior fluorescent properties compared to small organic fluorophores, especially when high sensitivity or multicolor detection required : * Broad and high absorption of light suits many light sources * Very intense emission of light: 10-20 times brighter than small organic fluorophores * Relative large Stokes shift gives low background, and allows multicolor detections. * Excitation and emission spectra do not overlap compared to conventional organic dyes. * Can be used in tandem (si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyanobacteria
Cyanobacteria ( ) are a group of autotrophic gram-negative bacteria that can obtain biological energy via oxygenic photosynthesis. The name "cyanobacteria" () refers to their bluish green (cyan) color, which forms the basis of cyanobacteria's informal common name, blue-green algae. Cyanobacteria are probably the most numerous taxon to have ever existed on Earth and the first organisms known to have produced oxygen, having appeared in the middle Archean eon and apparently originated in a freshwater or terrestrial environment. Their photopigments can absorb the red- and blue-spectrum frequencies of sunlight (thus reflecting a greenish color) to split water molecules into hydrogen ions and oxygen. The hydrogen ions are used to react with carbon dioxide to produce complex organic compounds such as carbohydrates (a process known as carbon fixation), and the oxygen is released as a byproduct. By continuously producing and releasing oxygen over billions of years, cyanobacte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Light Harvesting Complex
In biology, a light-harvesting complex or LHC is an aggregate consisting of proteins bound with chromophores (chlorophylls and carotenoids) that play a key role in photosynthesis. LHCs are arrayed around photosynthetic reaction centers in both plants and photosynthetic bacteria and collect more of the incoming light than would be captured by the reaction centers alone. The light captured by the chromophores excites molecules from their ground states to (short-lived) higher-energy states, known as the excited states. This energy is then focused toward the reaction centers by Förster resonance energy transfer. Light-harvesting complexes are found in a wide variety among the different photosynthetic species, with no homology among the major groups. Function Photosynthesis is a process where light is absorbed or harvested by pigment protein complexes which are able to turn sunlight into chemical energy. In this process, a molecule of the pigment protein absorbs a photon of sunlig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phycourobilin
Phycourobilin is an orange tetrapyrrole involved in photosynthesis in cyanobacteria and red algae. This chromophore is bound to the phycobiliprotein phycoerythrin, the distal component of the light-harvesting system of cyanobacteria and red algae (phycobilisome). When bound to phycoerythrin, phycourobilin shows an absorption maximum around 495 nm. This chromophore is always a donor chromophore of phycoerythrins, since their acceptor chromophore is always phycoerythrobilin Phycoerythrobilin is a red phycobilin, i.e. an open tetrapyrrole chromophore found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of red algae, glaucophytes and some cryptomonads. Phycoerythrobilin is present in the phycobiliprotein phycoerythrin, of w .... It can also be linked to the linker polypeptides of the phycobilisome, in which its precise role remains unclear. Phycourobilin is found in marine phycobilisome containing organisms, allowing them to efficiently absorb blue-green light. In the ubiquitous marine c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phycocyanin
Phycocyanin is a pigment-protein complex from the light-harvesting phycobiliprotein family, along with allophycocyanin and phycoerythrin. It is an accessory pigment to chlorophyll. All phycobiliproteins are water-soluble, so they cannot exist within the membrane like carotenoids can. Instead, phycobiliproteins aggregate to form clusters that adhere to the membrane called phycobilisomes. Phycocyanin is a characteristic light blue color, absorbing orange and red light, particularly 620 nm (depending on which specific type it is), and emits fluorescence at about 650 nm (also depending on which type it is). Allophycocyanin absorbs and emits at longer wavelengths than phycocyanin C or phycocyanin R. Phycocyanins are found in cyanobacteria (also called blue-green algae). Phycobiliproteins have fluorescent properties that are used in immunoassay kits. Phycocyanin is from the Greek ''phyco'' meaning “algae” and ''cyanin'' is from the English word “cyan", which convention ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Algae
Red algae, or Rhodophyta (, ; ), make up one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae. The Rhodophyta comprises one of the largest Phylum, phyla of algae, containing over 7,000 recognized species within over 900 Genus, genera amidst ongoing taxonomic revisions. The majority of species (6,793) are Florideophyceae, and mostly consist of multicellular, ocean, marine algae, including many notable seaweeds. Red algae are abundant in marine habitats. Approximately 5% of red algae species occur in freshwater environments, with greater concentrations in warmer areas. Except for two coastal cave dwelling species in the asexual class Cyanidiophyceae, no terrestrial species exist, which may be due to an evolutionary bottleneck in which the last common ancestor lost about 25% of its core genes and much of its evolutionary plasticity. Red algae form a distinct group characterized by eukaryotic cells without flagella and centrioles, chloroplasts without external endoplasmic reticulum or unstack ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glaucophytes
The glaucophytes, also known as glaucocystophytes or glaucocystids, are a small group of unicellular algae found in freshwater and moist terrestrial environments, less common today than they were during the Proterozoic. The stated number of species in the group varies from about 14 to 26. Together with the red algae (Rhodophyta) and the green algae plus land plants (Viridiplantae or Chloroplastida), they form the Archaeplastida. The glaucophytes are of interest to biologists studying the evolution of chloroplasts as they may be similar to the original algal type that led to the red algae and green plants, i.e. glaucophytes may be basal Archaeplastida. Unlike red and green algae, glaucophytes only have asexual reproduction. Reproduction Unlike red and green algae, glaucophytes only have asexual reproduction. Glaucophytes reproduce exclusively through asexual means. They undergo open mitosis without centrioles, a trait shared with other basal eukaryotes. Reproductive modes in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allophycocyanin
Allophycocyanin ("other algal blue protein"; from Greek language, Greek: '' (allos)'' meaning "other", '' (phykos)'' meaning “alga”, and '' (kyanos)'' meaning "blue") is a protein from the light-harvesting phycobiliprotein family, along with phycocyanin, phycoerythrin and phycoerythrocyanin. It is an accessory pigment to chlorophyll. All phycobiliproteins are water-soluble and therefore cannot exist within the membrane like carotenoids, but aggregate, forming clusters that adhere to the membrane called phycobilisomes. Allophycocyanin absorbs and emits red light (650 and 660 nm max, respectively), and is readily found in Cyanobacteria (also called blue-green algae), and red algae. Phycobilin pigments have fluorescent properties that are used in immunoassay kits. In flow cytometry, it is often abbreviated APC. To be effectively used in applications such as Fluorescence-activated cell sorting, FACS, High-Throughput Screening (HTS) and microscopy, APC needs to be chemically cro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thylakoid
Thylakoids are membrane-bound compartments inside chloroplasts and cyanobacterium, cyanobacteria. They are the site of the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis. Thylakoids consist of a #Membrane, thylakoid membrane surrounding a #Lumen, thylakoid lumen. Chloroplast thylakoids frequently form stacks of disks referred to as #Granum and stroma lamellae, grana (singular: ''granum''). Grana are connected by intergranal or Stroma (fluid), stromal thylakoids, which join granum stacks together as a single functional compartment. In thylakoid membranes, chlorophyll pigments are found in packets called quantasomes. Each quantasome contains 230 to 250 chlorophyll molecules. Etymology The word ''Thylakoid'' comes from the Greek language, Greek word ''thylakos'' or ''θύλακος'', meaning "sac" or "pouch". Thus, ''thylakoid'' means "sac-like" or "pouch-like". Structure Thylakoids are membrane-bound structures embedded in the chloroplast stroma (fluid), stroma. A stack of thy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phycoerythrocyanin
Phycoerythrocyanin is a kind of phycobiliprotein, magenta chromoprotein involved in photosynthesis of some Cyanobacteria. This chromoprotein consists of alpha- and beta-subunits, generally aggregated as hexamer. Alpha-phycoerythrocyanin contains a phycoviolobilin, a violet bilin, that covalently attached at Cys-84, and beta-phycoerythrocyanin contains two phycocyanobilins, a blue bilin, that covalently attached at Cys-84 and -155, respectively. Phycoerythrocyanin is similar to phycocyanin, an important component of the light-harvesting complex (phycobilisome) of cyanobacteria and red algae. While only phycocyanobilin is covalently bound to phycocyanin Phycocyanin is a pigment-protein complex from the light-harvesting phycobiliprotein family, along with allophycocyanin and phycoerythrin. It is an accessory pigment to chlorophyll. All phycobiliproteins are water-soluble, so they cannot exist ..., leading to an absorption maximum around 620 nm, phycoerythrocyanin containing both ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
