Studies on excitation energy flow in the photosynthetic pigment system; Structure and energy transfer mechanism

Excitation energy flow in photosynthetic pigment systems is discussed in relation to structure of the system and transfer mechanism for each elementary process. Three typical examples for actual transfer processes are shown for the phycobilin system in cyanobacteria, the antenna system of photosynthetic bacteria and the Chla/c antenna system of brown algae. The main analytical method was the time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy in the picosecond time range. In general, static optical charactersitics are not the main reason for the transfer efficiency, but the structure of the system is a prerequisite for the transfer process. On the phycobilin system, theoretical investigation was compared with experimental analysis, which leads to the essential understanding of the transfer process in terms of quantum mechanics. Recipient of the Botanical Society Award for Young Scientists, 1989.