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The 3- and 7-formyl groups of chlorophyll-d (Chl-d) and bacteriochlorophyll-e (BChl-e), respectively, were regioselectively labeled with an isotopically stable oxygen-18 (¹⁸O) atom to give 3¹-¹⁸O-labeled Chl-d and 7¹-¹⁸O-labeled BChl-e (ca. 90% ¹⁸O) by exchanging the carbonyl oxygen atoms in the presence of acidic H₂ ¹⁸O (ca. 95% ¹⁸O). Another photosynthetically active chlorophyll, BChl-a possessing the 3-acetyl group was treated under similar acidic conditions to afford a trace amount of 3¹-¹⁸O-labeled BChl-a and further demetallated compound, the corresponding 3¹-¹⁸O-labeled bacteriopheophytin-a as the major product with 55% ¹⁸O-degree. The FT-IR spectra of ¹⁸O-(un)labeled chlorophylls in the solution and the solid states showed that the 3- and 7-carbonyl stretching vibration modes moved to about a 30-cm⁻¹ lower wavenumber by ¹⁸O-labeling at the 3¹- and 7¹-oxo moieties. In artificial chlorosome-like self-aggregates of BChl-e, the ¹⁸O-labeled 7-carbonyl stretching mode was completely resolved from the specially hydrogen-bonded 13-C=O stretching mode, evidently indicating no interaction of the 7-CHO with other functional groups in the supramolecules.

When pressure was applied to the main light-harvesting apparatus (chlorosomes) isolated from several green photosynthetic bacteria (up to 128 MPa), the Qy-absorption band in an aqueous solution was shifted to longer wavelengths. The shift, deltav, was completely reversible for (de)compression and also showed a linear relation as a function of the applied pressure. The pressure-sensitivity in the deltav was dependent upon the bacterial species. The pressure coefficient, deltav/deltaP, was -565 to -535 cm(-1) GPa(-1) for the chlorosomes from several green sulfur bacteria (Chlorobium species), which have several bacteriochlorophyll(BChl) homologues at the 8- and 12-positions as the antenna pigments. In contrast, a smaller value (-445 cm(-1) GPa(-1)) was estimated for the chlorosomes from the green nonsulfur bacterium (Chloroflexus aurantiacus), which has a single homologue with 8-ethyl and 12-methyl groups. These results were confirmed by the similar pressure dependency of in vitro self-aggregates of isolated BChls-c having various alkyl substituents at the 8- and 12-positions. The present pressurization study enables us to discuss a physiological meaning of a variety of antenna pigments in green photosynthetic bacteria.

Green sulfur bacteria contain chlorophyllous pigments, chlorophyll (Chl) aPD and bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) aP, esterified with Delta2,6-phytadienol and phytol, respectively, which would be produced by reduction of the geranylgeranyl group at the C-17 propionate residue. In the genome of Chlorobium tepidum, two paralogous genes presumably encoding geranylgeranyl reductase, CT1232 and CT2256, are found. The deletion mutants of the CT1232 and CT2256 genes were constructed using an insertional inactivation method in order to clarify the biosynthetic process of the Delta2,6-phytadienyl and phytyl groups in green sulfur bacteria. The compositions of chlorophyllous pigments in the two mutants were determined by LC-MS analysis. The CT2256-deleted mutant accumulated Chl aGG and BChl aGG esterified with geranylgeraniol, indicating that CT2256 was involved in the production of both Delta2,6-phytadienyl and phytyl groups. The relatively high fluorescence emission from chlorosomes in the mutant also suggested some hindrance of the energy transfer from chlorosomes to the reaction center complex. However, the CT1232-deleted mutant almost showed no apparent phenotype compared to the wild type. Furthermore, the purple bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus mutant defective in the bchP gene was partially complemented with the CT2256 gene; BChl aP was synthesized in the mutant in addition to accumulating other intermediates.

Molecular structures of (bacterio)chlorophylls [= (B)Chls] in photosynthetic apparatus are surveyed, and a diversity of the ester groups of the 17-propionate substituent is particularly focused on in this review. In oxygenic photosynthetic species including green plants and algae, the ester of Chl molecules is limited to a phytyl group. Geranylgeranyl and farnesyl groups in addition to phytyl are observed in (B)Chl molecules inside photosynthetic proteins of anoxygenic bacteria. In main light-harvesting antennas of green bacteria (chlorosomes), a greater variety of ester groups including long straight chains are used in the composite BChl molecules. This diversity is ascribable to the fact that chlorosomal BChls self-aggregate to form a core part of chlorosomes without any specific interaction of oligopeptides. Biological significance of the long chains is discussed in photosynthetic apparatus, especially in chlorosomes.

3-Deacetyl-3-(1-hydroxyethyl)bacteriopyrochlorophyll-a (1), 7,8-dihydrobacteriochlorophyll-d possessing 8-ethyl, 12-methyl and 17(4)-phytyl groups, was prepared by modifying naturally occurring bacteriochlorophyll-a. The synthetic 3(1)-epimers were separated by high-performance liquid chromotagraphy, and the absolute configuration at the 3(1)-position was determined by derivatization of 1 to a structurally determined chlorin. A dichloromethane solution of 3(1)R-1 or 3(1)S-1 was diluted with a 1000-fold volume of cyclohexane to give self-aggregation species absorbing light at a near-infrared (NIR) region (<910 nm). The resulting Qy maximum in 3(1)R-1 was 860 nm and redshifted by 2170 cm(-1) from the monomeric one, whereas epimeric 3(1)S-1 showed a less redshifted peak at ca 800 nm, with a small dimeric band around 740 nm. Such visible spectra indicated that 3(1)R/S-1 formed different supramolecular structures in the self-aggregates. In contrast, self-aggregation of the 7,8-dehydro-compound 2, bacteriochlorophyll-dP, found in natural antennas of photosynthetic green bacteria showed much smaller diastereomeric control. The self-aggregates of 3(1)R-1 absorbing light in the NIR region would be models of intrinsic membraneous light-harvesting complexes 1 in photosynthetic purple bacteria as well as extramembranous antennas in green bacteria.

The supramolecular organogelation of bacteriochlorophyll(BChl)-c carrying an isobutyl substituent at the 8-position was observed in carbon tetrachloride at a concentration of about 10 mM at room temperature. The BChl-c gel was evaluated by several spectroscopic measurements: the electronic absorption spectrum exhibited a far-red shift of the Qy-absorption from 660 to 748 nm and the FTIR spectrum showed a shorter frequency shift of the 13-C=O stretching from 1683 to 1643 cm-1 compared to the shifts of the corresponding monomer solution in tetrahydrofuran. These observations strongly indicate that the gelating BChl-c molecules form self-aggregates that are reminiscent of light-harvesting chlorosomes of green photosynthetic bacteria. The present supramolecular organogel prepared from natural chlorophylls is promising for the creation of an intelligent soft material involving artificial photosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The mutant lacking the enzyme BciA (renamed CT1063), which catalyzed reduction of the 8-vinyl group of a porphyrinoid-type 3,8-divinyl-(proto)chlorophyllide-a [DV-(P)Chlide-a] in the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobaculum (Cba.) tepidum, was reconstructed on the basis of the previous study reported by Chew and Bryant [J. Biol. Chem. 2007, 282, 2967–2975]. Cba. tepidum biosynthesizes the following three different types of chlorophylls (Chls) through their common precursory DV-(P)Chlide-a as its photosynthetically active pigments: bacteriochlorophyll(BChl)-c and Chl-a with the partially reduced 17,18-trans-dihydroporphyrin and BChl-a with the further reduced 7,8-trans-17,18-trans-tetrahydroporphyrin. The structures of Chls thus produced were characterized in detail by various spectroscopic techniques. In the mutant, both BChl-c and Chl-a possessing the alkyl group at the 8-position were exclusively replaced by their 8-vinylated derivatives, whereas BChl-a possessed the original 8-ethyl group. The present observations were inconsistent with the previous report. However, it was apparently confirmed that the enzyme BciA was responsible for the reduction of DV-(P)Chlide-a to produce BChl-c and Chl-a. Noteworthily, exclusive accumulation of the reduced (8-ethylated) form of BChl-a, not its 8-vinylated derivative, in the mutant indicates the presence of another enzyme catalyzing the 8-vinyl reduction as yet unidentified or any other reduction mechanism using a known enzyme to yield BChl-a. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) was readily converted into Chl-d under mild conditions without any enzymes. Treatment of Chl-a dissolved in dry tetrahydrofuran (THF) with thiophenol and acetic acid at room temperature successfully produced Chl-d in 31% yield. During the acidic oxidation, removal of the central magnesium, pheophytinization, was sufficiently suppressed. This mild pathway can give insights into the yet unidentified Chl-d biosynthesis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The reaction centers (RCs) from several species of a purple photosynthetic bacterium, Rhodopseudomonas palustris, were first isolated by ammonium-sulfate fractionation of the isolated core complexes, and were successfully purified by anion-exchange and gel-filtration chromatography as well as sucrose-density gradient centrifugation. The RCs were characterized by spectroscopic and biochemical analyses, indicating that they were sufficiently pure and had conserved their redox activity. The pigment composition of the purified RCs was carefully analyzed by LCMS. Significant accumulation of both bacteriochlorophyll(BChl)-a and bacteriopheophytin(BPhe)-a esterified with various isoprenoid alcohols in the 17-propionate groups was shown in RCs for the first time. Moreover, a drastic decrease in BPhe-a with the most dehydrogenated and rigid geranylgeranyl(GG) ester was observed, indicating that BPhe-a in RC preferably took partially hydrogenated and flexible ester groups, i.e. dihydro-GG and tetrahydro-GG in addition to phytyl. Based on the reported X-ray crystal structures of purple bacterial RCs, the meaning of flexibility of the ester groups in BChl-a and BPhe-a as the cofactors of RCs is proposed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Chlorophyll(Chl)-c pigments in algae, diatoms and some prokaryotes are characterized by the fully conjugated porphyrin π-system as well as the acrylate residue at the 17-position. The precise structural characterization of Chl-c 3 from the haptophyte Emiliania huxleyi was performed. The conformations of the π-conjugated peripheral substituents, the 3-/8-vinyl, 7-methoxycarbonyl and 17-acrylate moieties were evaluated, in a solution, using nuclear Overhauser enhancement correlations and molecular modeling calculations. The rotation of the 17-acrylate residue was considerably restricted, whereas the other three substituents readily rotated at ambient temperature. Moreover, the stereochemistry at the 132-position was determined by combination of chiral high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. Compared with the CD spectra of the structurally related, synthetic (132 R)- and (132 S)-protochlorophyllide(PChlide)-a, naturally occurring Chl-c 3 had exclusively the (132 R)-configuration. To elucidate this natural selection of a single enantiomer, we analyzed the three major Chl-c pigments (Chl-c 1, c 2 and c 3) in four phylogenetically distinct classes of Chl-c containing algae, i.e., heterokontophyta, dinophyta, cryptophyta and haptophyta using chiral HPLC. All the photosynthetic organisms contained only the (132 R)-enantiomerically pure Chls-c, and lacked the corresponding enantiomeric (132 S)-forms. Additionally, Chl-c 2 was found in all the organisms as the common Chl-c. These results throw a light on the biosynthesis as well as photosynthetic function of Chl-c pigments: Chl-c 2 is derived from 8-vinyl-PChlide-a by dehydrogenation of the 17-propionate to acrylate residues as generally proposed, and the (132 R)-enantiomers of Chls-c function as photosynthetically active, light-harvesting pigments together with the principal Chl-a and carotenoids. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Gallium(III) chlorins possessing a series of axial ligands were synthesized as model compounds of natural chlorophylls. A pair of diastereomers arising from the fifth axial coordination onto the asymmetric chlorin π-macrocycle could be discriminated in a solution by both 1H- and 13C NMR spectroscopies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Divinyl-chlorophyllide a (DV-Chlide a ) is a universal precursor for chlorophyll or bacteriochlorophyll biosynthesis in all photosynthetic organisms. Previous mutational analyses revealed that BciA works for reduction of the C8-vinyl group of DV-Chlide a. Chlorophyllide oxidoreductase (COR) reduces the C7=C8 double bond of Chlide a bearing the C8-ethyl group, but also potentially catalyzes the reduction of the C8-vinyl group of DV-Chlide a. In this study, we prepared a recombinant BciA protein from the purple photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus and analyzed its C8-vinyl reduction activity towards DV-Chlide a . BciA formed a functional oligomeric complex consisting of at least three rigid dimers. BciA required NADPH as an electron donor for its C8-vinyl reduction activity. The enzymatic activity of BciA towards the substrate DV-Chlide a was much higher than that of COR towards Chlide a . Phylogenetic distribution and the enzymatic parameters of BciA and COR suggest that BciA is a more recently acquired auxiliary C8-vinyl reductase, attained to meet the high demand for bacteriochlorophylls used to produce large amounts of light-harvesting complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All regioisomeric di- and tetrahydrogeranylgeraniols possessing the C2 C3 double bond were prepared as authentic samples. The synthetic C 20 -isoprenoid alcohols were separated well by gas chromatography. Based on the chromatographic analysis, the enzymatic reduction pathway of a geranylgeranyl group was investigated to identify the last stage of (bacterio)chlorophyll biosynthesis in phototrophs. The geranylgeranyl group was triply reduced to the phytyl group through the first regio- and stereospecific hydrogenation of C10 C11 to C10H C11( S )H, the second of C6 C7 to C6H C7( S )H, and the third of C14 C15 to C14H C15H. The identification of the reduction sequence completes the biosynthetic pathways for naturally occurring chlorophyll- a and bacteriochlorophyll- a bearing a phytyl group as the esterifying moiety in the 17-propionate residues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The green sulfur photosynthetic bacterium Chlorobaculum tepidum newly produced BChl c derivatives possessing a chlorine or bromine atom at the terminus of the esterifying chain in the 17-propionate residue by cultivation with exogenous ω-halo-1-alkanols. The relative ratios of BChl c derivatives esterified with 8-chloro-1-octanol and 10-chloro-1-decanol were estimated to be 26.5% and 33.3% by cultivation with these ω-chloro-1-alkanols at the final concentrations of 300 and 150 μM, respectively. In contrast, smaller amounts of unnatural BChls c esterified with ω-bromo-1-alkanols were biosynthesized than those esterified with ω-chloro-1-alkanols: the ratios of BChl c derivatives esterified with 8-bromo-1-octanol and 10-bromo-1-decanol were 11.3% and 12.2% at the concentrations of 300 and 150 μM, respectively. These indicate that ω-chloro-1-alkanols can be incorporated into bacteriochlorophyllide c more than ω-bromo-1-alkanols in the BChl c biosynthetic pathway. The homolog compositions of the novel BChl c derivatives possessing a halogen atom were analogous to those of coexisting natural BChl c esterified with farnesol. These results demonstrate unique properties of BChl c synthase, BchK, which can utilize unnatural substrates containing halogen in the BChl c biosynthesis of Cba. tepidum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A pair of zinc chlorins having a bridged moiety between the 3 and 132-positions on the front or back side of its π-face were synthesized, and their asymmetric coordination ability towards pyridine was determined in benzene. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]