A comparative look at structure-function roles in light-harvesting dynamics of purple bacteria

Using a unique approach to solar energy conversion, photosynthetic organisms have developed a light-harvesting process with near unity quantum efficiency. Light-harvesting proteins transfer energy from the sun to reach a central location, the reaction center, where charge separation occurs and energy is converted to chemical energy. Moreover, these proteins are able to carry out this efficient transfer in cellular membranes despite the complex environment found in these membranes. Particularly, light-harvesting in photosynthetic purple bacteria uses a diverse set of tools from species to species to efficiently transfer energy through this protein network. Induced by their habitats, external environmental pressures on the fitness of purple bacteria have caused species to evolve different mechanisms in order to deal with thesel pressures. Although these complexes have been studied for some time, there is still very little known about particular species.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctoral

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemistry

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Author dc:creator

• Tong, Ashley(Ashley Lynn)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Gabriela Schlau-Cohen.

• Chemistry.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/124055

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/124055