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@article{Leong:2026:10.1038/s41467-026-73964-7,
author = {Leong, M and Consoli, G and Davis, G and Hancox-Lachman, B and Renard, K and Tufail, F and Lee, LE and Gautier, L and Murray, JW and Fantuzzi, A and Rutherford, AW},
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-73964-7},
journal = {Nature Communications},
title = {Mapping the absorption landscape of far-red Photosystem II},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-73964-7},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR
AB - Far-red light photoacclimation enables some cyanobacteria to survive in white-light-depleted environments by extending the red limit of photosynthesis. In far-red Photosystem II, paralogous subunits replace their canonical counterparts, allowing the incorporation of some chlorophyll f molecules and one chlorophyll d that are red-shifted and spectrally distinct from the chlorophyll a manifold, and from each other. Here, we present a comparative study of far-red Photosystem II from Chroococcidiopsis thermalis PCC 7203 and Calothrix sp. NIES-3974. In C. thermalis, the cryo-electron microscopy structure reveals the far-red-exclusive subunit, PsbH2’, which forms part of a chlorophyll f binding site. We also assign four chlorophyll f sites using sequence comparisons and electrostatic potential analyses. In Calothrix, psbH2’ is absent, and the same analyses show that only two of these chlorophyll f sites are present. Comparative phylogenetic, structural, and spectroscopic analyses allow the assignment of specific wavelengths to all the red-shifted chlorophylls. This provides the framework needed to model excitation energy transfer in far-red Photosystem II, and to understand the conserved features that allow survival under far-red light.
AU - Leong,M
AU - Consoli,G
AU - Davis,G
AU - Hancox-Lachman,B
AU - Renard,K
AU - Tufail,F
AU - Lee,LE
AU - Gautier,L
AU - Murray,JW
AU - Fantuzzi,A
AU - Rutherford,AW
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-73964-7
PY - 2026///
SN - 2041-1723
TI - Mapping the absorption landscape of far-red Photosystem II
T2 - Nature Communications
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-73964-7
ER -