Inter-chromophore interactions in pigment-modified and dimer-less bacterial photosynthetic reaction centers

The magnitudes of inter-chromophore interactions in bacterial photosynthetic reaction centers are investigated by measuring absorption and Stark spectra of reaction centers in which monomeric chromophores are modified and in a novel triplet mutant which lacks the special pair. The circular dichroism spectrum of the triple mutant reaction center was also measured. Only small changes in the spectroscopic properties are observed, as has also been found for several types of reaction centers in which the absorption or chemical properties of a chromophore are altered by site-specific mutations. We conclude that the electronic absorption, circular dichroism and Stark features of the special pair and the monomeric chromophores in the reaction center are relatively insensitive to inter-chromophore interactions.