Molecular organization of bacteriochlorophyll in chlorosomes of the green photosynthetic bacteriumChloroflexus aurantiacus: Studies of fluorescence depolarization accompanied by energy transfer processes.

Examination was made of changes in fluorescence polarization plane by energy transfer in the chlorosomes of the green photosynthetic bacterium,Chloroflexus aurantiacus. Fluorescence anisotropy in the picosecond (ps) time region was analyzed using chlorosomes suspended in solution as well as those oriented in a polyacrylamide gel. When the main component of BChlc was preferentially excited, the decay of fluorescence anisotropy was found to depend on wavelength. In the chlorosome suspension, the anisotropy ratio of BChlc changed from 0.31 to 0.24 within 100 ps following excitation. In the baseplate BChla region, this ratio decreased to a negative value (-0.09) from the initial 0.14. In oriented samples, the degree of polarization remained at 0.68 for BChlc, and changed from 0.25 to -0.40 for the baseplate BChla by excitation light whose electric vector was parallel to the longest axis of chlorosomes. In the latter case, there was a shift from 0.30 to -0.55 by excitation perpendicular to the longest axis. Time-resolved fluorescence polarization spectra clearly indicated extensive changes in polarization plane accompanied by energy transfer. The directions of polarization plane of emission from oriented samples were mostly dependent on chlorosome orientation in the gel but not on that of the polarization plane of excitation light. Orientations of the dipole moment of fluorescence components was consistent with that of absorption components as determined by the linear dichroism (Matsuura et al. (1993) Photochem. Photobiol. 57: 92-97). A model for molecular organization of BChlc anda in chlorosomes is proposed based on anisotropic optical properties.