Photoprotection of photosystem II (PSII) is essential to avoid the light-induced damage of the
photosynthetic apparatus due to the formation of reactive oxygen species (= photo-oxidative …

Chlorophylls and bacteriochlorophylls, together with carotenoids, serve, noncovalently
bound to specific apoproteins, as principal light-harvesting and energy-transforming …

The major light-harvesting complex of photosystem II (LHC-II) serves as the principal solar
energy collector in the photosynthesis of green plants and presumably also functions in …

The structure of the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b–protein complex, an integral membrane
protein, has been determined at 3.4 Å resolution by electron crystallography of two …

A conserved regulatory mechanism protects plants against the potentially damaging effects
of excessive light. Nearly all photosynthetic eukaryotes are able to dissipate excess …

Carotenoids with cyclic end groups are essential components of the photosynthetic
membranes in all plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. These lipid-soluble compounds protect …

Xanthophyll pigments have critical structural and functional roles in the photosynthetic light-
harvesting complexes of algae and vascular plants. Genetic dissection of xanthophyll …

The light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-binding (LHC) proteins function in both Photosystem
(PS) I and II as coordinators of antenna pigments. They constitute a family of abundant and …

Carotenoids are one of the most widespread groups of pigments in nature and more than
600 of these have been identified. Beside provitamin A activity, carotenoids are important as …

A new hypothesis is presented to explain the major molecular process that regulates the
efficiency of light harvesting by chloroplast membranes. It is proposed that in excess light the …