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Article
Open AccessUphill energy transfer mechanism for photosynthesis in an Antarctic alga
Prasiola crispa, an aerial green alga, forms layered colonies under the severe terrestrial conditions of Antarctica. Since only far-red light is available at a deep layer of the colony, P. crispa has evolved a mo...
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Article
Open AccessAn LH1–RC photocomplex from an extremophilic phototroph provides insight into origins of two photosynthesis proteins
Rhodopila globiformis is the most acidophilic of anaerobic purple phototrophs, growing optimally in culture at pH 5. Here we present a cryo-EM structure of the light-harvesting 1–reaction center (LH1–RC) complex ...
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Article
Excitation relaxation dynamics of carotenoids constituting the diadinoxanthin cycle
Carotenoids (Cars) exhibit two functions in photosynthesis, light-harvesting and photoprotective functions, which are performed through the excited states of Cars. Therefore, increasing our knowledge on excita...
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Article
Correction to: Allochromatium tepidum, sp. nov., a hot spring species of purple sulfur bacteria
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Article
Allochromatium tepidum, sp. nov., a hot spring species of purple sulfur bacteria
We describe a new species of purple sulfur bacteria (Chromatiaceae, anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria) isolated from a microbial mat in the sulfidic geothermal outflow of a hot spring in Rotorua, New Zealand. This...
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Article
Open AccessA non-photosynthetic green alga illuminates the reductive evolution of plastid electron transport systems
Plastid electron transport systems are essential not only for photosynthesis but also for dissipating excess reducing power and sinking excess electrons generated by various redox reactions. Although numerous ...
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Article
Direct injection of pigment–protein complexes and membrane fragments suspended in water from phototrophs to C18 HPLC
We discovered that pigments including carotenoids and (bacterio)chlorophylls in pigment–protein complexes, membrane fragments, and chlorosomes suspended in water could be injected directly into C18 HPLC and analy...
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Chapter
Carotenoids in Phototrophic Microalgae: Distributions and Biosynthesis
Phototrophic organisms necessarily synthesize not only carotenoids but also chlorophylls for photosynthesis. Phototrophic microalgae are usually single-cell organisms; however, as the pigment compositions of b...
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Article
Blastochloris tepida, sp. nov., a thermophilic species of the bacteriochlorophyll b-containing genus Blastochloris
A new taxon is created for the thermophilic purple nonsulfur bacterium previously designated as Rhodopseudomonas strain GI. Strain GI was isolated from a New Mexico (USA) hot spring microbial mat and grows optima...
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Article
Open AccessSuppression of the phytoene synthase gene (EgcrtB) alters carotenoid content and intracellular structure of Euglena gracilis
Photosynthetic organisms utilize carotenoids for photoprotection as well as light harvesting. Our previous study revealed that high-intensity light increases the expression of the gene for phytoene synthase (Egcr...
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Article
Excitation relaxation dynamics and energy transfer in pigment–protein complexes of a dinoflagellate, revealed by ultrafast fluorescence spectroscopy
Photosynthetic light-harvesting complexes, found in aquatic photosynthetic organisms, contain a variety of carotenoids and chlorophylls. Most of the photosynthetic dinoflagellates possess two types of light-ha...
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Article
Open AccessIdentification and functional analysis of the geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase gene (crtE) and phytoene synthase gene (crtB) for carotenoid biosynthesis in Euglena gracilis
Euglena gracilis, a unicellular phytoflagellate within Euglenida, has attracted much attention as a potential feedstock for renewable energy production. In outdoor open-pond cultivatio...
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Article
Identification and spectroscopic characterization of neurosporene
Neurosporene is a carotene and an intermediate in the synthesis of lycopene from phytoene. Its content in carotenogenic organisms is very low; hence, the complete assignments of its spectroscopic data, includi...
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Article
Open AccessA highly selective biosynthetic pathway to non-natural C50 carotenoids assembled from moderately selective enzymes
Synthetic biology aspires to construct natural and non-natural pathways to useful compounds. However, pathways that rely on multiple promiscuous enzymes may branch, which might preclude selective production of...
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Article
General methods for identification of carotenoids
General methods for identification of usual carotenoids including C18-HPLC retention time and spectroscopic methods, such as absorption spectra, mass spectra, NMR spectra, are briefly summarized.
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Chapter and Conference Paper
All of α-Carotene and Its Derivatives Have a Sole Chirality?
Distribution of a-carotene and its derivatives is reported to be limited in some taxonomic groups of phototrophic organisms. In addition, C-6′ in a-carotene between e-end group and conjugated double bonds is c...
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Article
Carotenoids in Rhodoplanes Species: Variation of Compositions and Substrate Specificity of Predicted Carotenogenesis Enzymes
Phototrophic bacteria necessarily contain carotenoids for photosynthesis, and accumulate unusual carotenoids in some cases. The carotenoids in all established species of Rhodoplanes (Rpl.), a representative of ph...
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Article
Amino acid-assimilating phototrophic heliobacteria from soda lake environments: Heliorestis acidaminivorans sp. nov. and ‘Candidatus Heliomonas lunata’
Two novel taxa of heliobacteria, Heliorestis acidaminivorans sp. nov. strain HR10BT and ‘Candidatus Heliomonas lunata’ strain SLH, were cultured from shoreline sediments/soil of Lake El Hamra (Egy...
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Protocol
Characterization of Carotenogenesis Genes in the Cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120
Cyanobacteria produce many kinds of carotenoids for light harvesting and light protection in photosynthesis. To elucidate the biosynthetic pathways of carotenoids in Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 (also known as Nostoc sp...
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Article
Genus Specific Unusual Carotenoids in Purple Bacteria, Phaeospirillum and Roseospira: Structures and Biosyntheses
Phototrophic bacteria necessarily contain carotenoids for photosynthesis, and a few phototrophic purple bacteria accumulate unusual carotenoids. The carotenoids in the genera Phaeospirillum and Roseospira were id...
