Distinctive and functional pigment arrangements in Lhcp, a prasinophyte-specific light-harvesting complex

Distinctive and functional pigment arrangements in Lhcp, a prasinophyte-specific light-harvesting complex | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Distinctive and functional pigment arrangements in Lhcp, a prasinophyte-specific light-harvesting complex Ritsuko Fujii, Soichiro Seki, Masato Kubota, Nami Yamano, Eunchul Kim, and 8 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6886988/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 17 Nov, 2025 Read the published version in Communications Biology → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Light harvesting is essential for photosynthesis, and the diversity of light-harvesting systems has enabled photosynthetic organisms to acquire unique niches and thrive. Prasinophytes are marine green algae that branched off early in evolution and contain Lhcp as the primary light-harvesting complex. Lhcp is composed of proteins and pigments unique to prasinophytes but shares some structural and functional features with the plant-type light-harvesting complex LHCII. In this study, we used cryo-electron microscopy to determine the structure of Lhcp from the prasinophyte Ostreococcus tauri at 1.94 Å resolution, which revealed all the pigments responsible for light-harvesting function. Results show that the trimeric structure of Lhcp is stabilized by pigments, including a distinctive carotenoid, the cis -isomer of esterified antheraxanthin B. Comparing the structures and spectroscopic results of Lhcp and plant-type LHCII reveals how the cores of these two light-harvesting complexes are conserved and how structural differences support their functional divergence. Biological sciences/Plant sciences/Photosynthesis/Antenna complex Biological sciences/Biochemistry/Structural biology/Electron microscopy/Cryoelectron microscopy Biological sciences/Biophysics/Bioenergetics Photosynthesis light-harvesting complex Prasinophyte cryo-EM carbonyl carotenoid Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files LhcpSI.pdf Supporting information nrreportingsummaryflat.pdf Reporting Summary Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 17 Nov, 2025 Read the published version in Communications Biology → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6886988","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":474258001,"identity":"2c6b2523-3cc1-4eb2-98a4-a8a12cb2b946","order_by":0,"name":"Ritsuko 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