Oxyphotobacteria. Antenna ring around photosystem I

Abstract

The oceanic picoplankton Prochlorococcus - probably the most abundant photosynthetic organism on our planet - can grow at great depths where light intensity is very low. We have found that the chlorophyll-binding proteins in a deep-living strain of this oxyphotobacterium form a ring around a trimer of the photosystem I (PS I) photosynthetic reaction centre, a clever arrangement that maximizes the capture of light energy in such dim conditions.