Strongly exciton-coupled BChle chromophore system in the chlorosomal antenna of intact cells of the green bacteriumChlorobium phaeovibrioides: A spectral hole burning study

Spectral hole burning studies of intact cells of the green bacteriumChlorobium phaeovibrioides have proven that the Q_y-absorption system of antenna bacteriochlorophylle (BChle) should be interpreted in terms of the delocalized exciton level structure of an aggregate. For the first time the 0-0 band of the lowest exciton state of BChle aggregates has been directly detected as the lowest energy inhomogeneously broadened band (FWHM 100 cm^–1; position of maximum, at 739 nm) of the near-infrared BChle band in the 1.8 K excitation spectrum (FWHM=750 cm^–1; position of maximum, at 715 nm). The comparative analysis of the hole spectra, measured for the three species of BChlc- ande-containing green bacteria, has shown that the 0-0 transition bands of the lowest exciton state of BChlc ande aggregates display fundamentally similar spectral features: (1) the magnitude of inhomogeneous broadening of these bands is about 100 cm^–1; (2) at the wavelength of the maximum of each band, the amplitude of the preburnt excitation spectrum makes up 20% of the maximum amplitude of the spectrum; (3) the spectral position of each band coincides with the spectral position of the longest wavelength band of the circular dichroism spectrum; (4) the width of these bands is 2.3-times less than that of monomeric BChl in vitro.