Protein structure determines the efficient flow of excitations in the Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex

MARÍA BELÉN OVIEDO; CRISTIÁN G. SÁNCHEZ

Vermont

Conferencia; Gordon Research Conference in Photosynthesis: From Evolution of Fundamental Mechanisms to Radical Re-Engineering; 2014

Gordon Research Conference

The Fenna-Matthews-Olson Complex (FMO) of Prosteochloris aestuarii was the first antenna complex to have its structure determined by x-ray crystallography and servers as an energy funnel from the chlorosome to the reaction center. Atomistic quantum dynamical simulation of energy transfer between pigments using Time Dependent Density Functional Tight Binding [1]. Upon continuous resonant illumination of BChl 8 we study the dipole moment of all pigments as a function of time [2]. The electrostatic field from the protein framework regulates different pathways for energy transfer. In the presence of the protein the excitation transfers fromBChl 8 to BChls 3 and 4 in symmetric fashionfavouring the coherent transfer via two pathways.