Neutron and light scattering studies of light-harvesting photosynthetic antenna complexes

Abstract

Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) have been employed in studying the structural information of various biological systems, particularly in systems without high-resolution structural information available. In this report, we briefly present some principles and biological applications of neutron scattering and DLS, compare the differences in information that can be obtained with small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and then report recent studies of SANS and DLS, together with other biophysical approaches, for light-harvesting antenna complexes and reaction centers of purple and green phototrophic bacteria.

Organization and Flexibility of Cyanobacterial Thylakoid Membranes Examined by Neutron Scattering

“…TEM is the method of choice for determining cell physiology at the nano-to meso-scale and has been used extensively to determine thylakoid architecture (4); however, it can rely heavily on fixation of the specimen and does not provide a dynamic picture. On the other hand, solution scattering techniques can, in principle, provide this missing link to the understanding of photosynthesis but have hardly been used in this field of research until recently (24).…”

A Small-Angle Neutron Scattering Environment for In-Situ Observation of Chemical Processes

“…In general, the drawbacks of the small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) technique are often cited as the lower flux (and therefore longer acquisition times/lower time resolution) and larger beam size (i.e. greater sample volume) 24 , 26 and, as a result, the development of sample environments for SANS instruments is much less advanced than for their SAXS equivalents. However, due to a confluence of two important factors, this paradigm may be about to shift.…”

Small-Angle X-Ray and Neutron Scattering on Photosynthetic Membranes

“…For more complex structures, different peak positions reflect other crystallographic symmetries and require more detailed analysis. Once a scattering intensity pattern is recorded and corrected for background contributions, Tang and Blankenship (2012)].…”