Structure-based simulation of energy
transfer in PS I
S. Savikhin
Energy transfer between donor and acceptor molecules …
To be continued….
Download a that shows dynamics of energy transfer in PS I
complex:
High quality movie
(75 MB)
Low quality
movie (5 MB)
Movie details:
- Simulation
uses Monte-Carlo method and 96x96 matrix of Förster energy transfer
rates calculated using crystal structure of PS I
- Protein
is not shown – only chlorophylls and electron transfer chain cofactors.
- Time
is magnified 1012 times, i.e. 1 second of the movie corresponds
to 1 ps of real time within the complex
- Excited
pigment is shown using red space-filled structure
- Excitation
motion does not involve motion of atoms nor electrons; only energy moves,
i.e. excited pigment (red) returns to its ground state, while nearby
molecule becomes excited
- Motion
of electron between electron transfer cofactor is out of time scale.
Molecule with the extra electron is shown in blue
- Notice
random motion of excitation. That is the model where pigment energies were
distributed randomly. This model fits pump-probe data, while the model
with funnel (sink) like arrangement of pigments failed to describe details
of the experimentally measured pump-probe kinetics.