A distinctive pathway for Triplet-Triplet Energy Transfer photoprotection in Fucoxanthin Chlorophyll-binding Proteins from Cyclotella meneghiniana

Fucoxanthin Chlorophyll-binding Proteins (FCPs) are the major light-harvesting complexes of diatoms. In this work, FCPs isolated from Cyclotella meneghiniana have been studied by means of Optically Detected Magnetic Resonance (ODMR) and Time-Resolved Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (TR-EPR), with the aim to characterize the photoprotective mechanism based on triplet-triplet energy transfer (TTET). The spectroscopic properties of the chromophores carrying the triplet state have been interpreted on the basis of a delved analysis of the recently solved crystallographic structures of FCP. The results point toward a photoprotective role for two fucoxanthin molecules exposed to the exterior of the FCP monomers. This shows that FCP has adopted a structural strategy different from that of related light-harvesting complexes from plants and other microalgae, in which the photoprotective role is carried out by two highly conserved carotenoids in the interior of the complex.