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Science 15 July 2005:
Vol. 309. no. 5733, pp. 484 - 487
DOI: 10.1126/science.1110879
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Reports

Chromatic Adaptation of Photosynthetic Membranes

Simon Scheuring1* and James N. Sturgis2

Many biological membranes adapt in response to environmental conditions. We investigated how the composition and architecture of photosynthetic membranes of a bacterium change in response to light, using atomic force microscopy. Despite large modifications in the membrane composition, the local environment of core complexes remained unaltered, whereas specialized paracrystalline light-harvesting antenna domains grew under low-light conditions. Thus, the protein mixture in the membrane shows eutectic behavior and can be mimicked by a simple model. Such structural adaptation ensures efficient photon capture under low-light conditions and prevents photodamage under high-light conditions.

1 Institut Curie, Unité Mixte de Recherche–CNRS 168, 11 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France.
2 Unité Propre de Recherche–9027 Laboratoire d'Indenierie de Systemes Macromoleculaires, Institut de Biologie Structurale et Microbiologie, CNRS, 31 Chemin Joseph Aiguier, 13402 Marseille Cedex 20, France.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: simon.scheuring{at}curie.fr

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
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Protein Shape and Crowding Drive Domain Formation and Curvature in Biological Membranes.
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Refinement of the x-ray structure of the RC LH1 core complex from Rhodopseudomonas palustris by single-molecule spectroscopy.
M. F. Richter, J. Baier, J. Southall, R. J. Cogdell, S. Oellerich, and J. Kohler (2007)
PNAS 104, 20280-20284
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Rows of ATP Synthase Dimers in Native Mitochondrial Inner Membranes.
N. Buzhynskyy, P. Sens, V. Prima, J. N. Sturgis, and S. Scheuring (2007)
Biophys. J. 93, 2870-2876
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Dynamics and Diffusion in Photosynthetic Membranes from Rhodospirillum Photometricum.
S. Scheuring and J. N. Sturgis (2006)
Biophys. J. 91, 3707-3717
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)