Successes & challenges in the atomistic modeling of light-harvesting and its photoregulation

Publication date: Available online 3 August 2019Source: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - BioenergeticsAuthor(s): Lorenzo Cupellini, Mattia Bondanza, Michele Nottoli, Benedetta MennucciAbstractLight-harvesting is a crucial step of photosynthesis. Its mechanisms and related energetics have been revealed by a combination of experimental investigations and theoretical modeling. The success of theoretical modeling is largely due to the application of atomistic descriptions combining quantum chemistry, classical models and molecular dynamics techniques. Besides the important achievements obtained so far, a complete and quantitative understanding of how the many different light-harvesting complexes exploit their structural specificity is still missing. Moreover, many questions remain unanswered regarding the mechanisms through which light-harvesting is regulated in response to variable light conditions. Here we show that, in both fields, a major role will be played once more by atomistic descriptions, possibly generalized to tackle the numerous time and space scales on which the regulation takes place: going from the ultrafast electronic excitation of the multichromophoric aggregate, through the subsequent conformational changes in the embedding protein, up to the interaction between proteins.Graphical Abstract

Source: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) Bioenergetics - August 4, 2019 Category: Biochemistry Source Type: research