2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Elucidation of supramolecular structures and excited energy transferring mechanism in photosynthetic light-harvesting antennas
| Project Area | Creation of novel light energy conversion system through elucidation of the molecular mechanism of photosynthesis and its artificial design in terms of time and space |
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| Project/Area Number |
17H06436
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Research in a proposed research area)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Review Section |
Complex systems
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| Research Institution | Ritsumeikan University |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2017-06-30 – 2022-03-31
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| Keywords | 生物物理 / 超分子化学 / ナノ材料 / 光物性 / バイオナノテクノロジー |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Main light-harvesting antennas of green photosynthetic bacteria, called chlorosomes, are built up by self-aggregation of specific chlorophyll molecules. Their supramolecular structures have not been revealed due to their inhomogeneity in chlorosomes. To clarify these chlorosomal structures, (semi-)synthetic model molecules were prepared, and their self-aggregates in a variety of environments were investigated by spectroscopic and microscopic analyses. Combination of excited energy acceptors to these in-vitro self-aggregates constructed artificial photosynthetic antenna systems with efficient absorption of sunlight.
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| Free Research Field |
生物有機化学
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| Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
クロロゾーム内でクロロフィル分子が徐々に集積し、その自己会合体が成長していくという「クロロゾームの動的形成過程」を、モデル分子(ケージドクロロフィル)を利用して解明したことは、様々な分子への展開も可能であり、生体器官の構築原理の解明や新たな材料開発にも期待できる。
また、上記のような超分子構造を制御した自己会合体にエネルギー受容体を連結することで、励起エネルギーを外部に取り出すことが可能な光収穫アンテナ系の創製にも成功した。このアンテナモデルは、人工光合成系の効率化にも大きく寄与するものである。
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