1,731 research outputs found
An improved crystal structure of C-phycoerythrin from the marine cyanobacterium Phormidium sp. A09DM
C-Phycoerythrin (PE) from Phormidium sp. A09DM has been crystallized using different conditions and its structure determined to atomic resolution (1.14 Γ
). In order for the pigment present, phycoerythrobilin (PEB), to function as an efficient light-harvesting molecule it must be held rigidly (Kupka and Scheer in Biochim Biophys Acta 1777:94β103, 2008) and, moreover, the different PEB molecules in PE must be arranged, relative to each other, so as to promote efficient energy transfer between them. This improved structure has allowed us to define in great detail the structure of the PEBs and their binding sites. These precise structural details will facilitate theoretical calculations of each PEBβs spectroscopic properties. It was possible, however, to suggest a model for which chromophores contribute to the different regions of absorption spectrum and propose a tentative scheme for energy transfer. We show that some subtle differences in one of these PEB binding sites in two of the 12 subunits are caused by crystal contacts between neighboring hexamers in the crystal lattice. This explains some of the differences seen in previous lower resolution structures determined at two different pH values (Kumar et al. in Photosyn Res 129:17β28, 2016)
Enhanced superconductivity at the interface of W/SrRuO point contact
Differential resistance measurements are conducted for point contacts (PCs)
between tungsten tip approaching along the axis direction and the
plane of SrRuO single crystal. Three key features are found.
Firstly, within 0.2 mV there is a dome like conductance enhancement due to
Andreev reflection at the normal-superconducting interface. By pushing the W
tip further, the conductance enhancement increases from 3\% to more than 20\%,
much larger than that was previously reported, probably due to the pressure
exerted by the tip. Secondly, there are also superconducting like features at
bias higher than 0.2 mV which persists up to 6.2 K, resembling the enhanced
superconductivity under uniaxial pressure for bulk SrRuO crystals
but more pronounced here. Third, the logarithmic background can be fitted with
the Altshuler-Aronov theory of tunneling into quasi two dimensional electron
system, consistent with the highly anisotropic electronic system in
SrRuO.Comment: prb style, 9 pages, 8 fig
On the Munn-Silbey approach to polaron transport with off-diagonal coupling
Improved results using a method similar to the Munn-Silbey approach have been
obtained on the temperature dependence of transport properties of an extended
Holstein model incorporating simultaneous diagonal and off-diagonal
exciton-phonon coupling. The Hamiltonian is partially diagonalized by a
canonical transformation, and optimal transformation coefficients are
determined in a self-consistent manner. Calculated transport properties exhibit
substantial corrections on those obtained previously by Munn and Silbey for a
wide range of temperatures thanks to a numerically exact evaluation and an
added momentum-dependence of the transformation matrix. Results on the
diffusion coefficient in the moderate and weak coupling regime show distinct
band-like and hopping-like transport features as a function of temperature.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, accpeted in Journal of Physical Chemistry B:
Shaul Mukamel Festschrift (2011
Characterisation of a pucBA deletion mutant from Rhodopseudomonas palustris lacking all but the pucBAd genes
Rhodopseudomonas palustris is a species of purple photosynthetic bacteria that has a multigene family of puc genes that encode the alpha and beta apoproteins, which form the LH2 complexes. A genetic dissection strategy has been adopted in order to try and understand which spectroscopic form of LH2 these different genes produce. This paper presents a characterisation of one of the deletion mutants generated in this program, the pucBAd only mutant. This mutant produces an unusual spectroscopic form of LH2 that only has a single large NIR absorption band at 800 nm. Spectroscopic and pigment analyses on this complex suggest that it has basically a similar overall structure as that of the wild-type HL LH2 complex. The mutant has the unique phenotype where the mutant LH2 complex is only produced when cells are grown at LL. At HL the mutant only produces the LH1-RC core complex
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