Piecing Together the Phycobilisome

Abstract

Photosynthesis is driven by the absorption of light by arrays of pigments bound within protein complexes called antennas, followed by the efficient transfer of energy to the photochem. reaction centers. Cyanobacteria, red algae and cyanelles contain phycobilisomes (PBS) as their major antenna complex. The PBS is an extremely large (3-7 MDa), multi-layered complex bound to the stromal side of the photosynthetic membrane. In this review, we will describe the important structural and functional characteristics of the phycobilisome complex exptl. obtained over the past 40 years, esp. in relation to the phycobilisomes unique absorption characteristics and its ability to self-assemble and disassemble. [on SciFinder(R)]