Factors affecting energy transfer from phycobilisomes to thylakoids in Anacystis nidulans

Short illumination with white light of dark-maintained Anacystis nidulans prior to immersion in liquid nitrogen resulted in a marked change of fluorescence emission characteristics at 77 K. The fluorescence of Photosystem II-associated membrane bound pigments increases, while the emission due to phycobilins decreases. This effect seems to be due to a light-dependent alteration in the extent of contact between phycobilisomes and thylakoids, since the effect is reversible in the dark and is abolished by short glutaraldehyde fixation. The preillumination effect is not inhibited by DCMU. Emission spectra obtained with actively growing and CO₂-starved cells indicate that the light-dependent increase in energy transfer from phycobilins to chlorophyll depends upon the physiological state of the cells.