TY - JOUR A1 - Goetze, Jan P. A1 - Kröner, Dominik A1 - Banerjee, Shiladitya A1 - Karasulu, Bora A1 - Thiel, Walter T1 - Carotenoids as a shortcut for chlorophyll Soret-to-Q band energy flow JF - ChemPhysChem : a European journal of chemical physics and physical chemistry N2 - It is proposed that xanthophylls, and carotenoids in general, may assist in energy transfer from the chlorophyll Soret band to the Q band. Ground-state (1A(g)) and excited-state (1B(u)) optimizations of violaxanthin (Vx) and zeaxanthin (Zx) are performed in an environment mimicking the light-harvesting complex II (LHCII), including the closest chlorophyll b molecule (Chl). Time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT, CAM-B3LYP functional) is used in combination with a semi-empirical description to obtain the excited-state geometries, supported by additional DFT/multireference configuration interaction calculations, with and without point charges representing LHCII. In the ground state, Vx and Zx show similar properties. At the 1B(u) minimum, the energy of the Zx 1Bu state is below the Chl Q band, in contrast to Vx. Both Vx and Zx may act as acceptors of Soret-state energy; transfer to the Q band seems to be favored for Vx. These findings suggest that carotenoids may generally mediate Soret-to-Q energy flow in LHCII. KW - carotenoids KW - chlorophyll KW - density functional calculations KW - energy transfer KW - xanthophylls Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/cphc.201402233 SN - 1439-4235 SN - 1439-7641 VL - 15 IS - 15 SP - 3391 EP - 3400 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heinze, Mandy A1 - Hanschen, Franziska S. A1 - Wiesner-Reinhold, Melanie A1 - Baldermann, Susanne A1 - Gräfe, Jan A1 - Schreiner, Monika A1 - Neugart, Susanne T1 - Effects of Developmental Stages and Reduced UVB and Low UV Conditions on Plant Secondary Metabolite Profiles in Pak Choi (Brassica rapa subsp chinensis) JF - Journal of agricultural and food chemistry : a publication of the American Chemical Society N2 - Pak choi (Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis) is rich in secondary metabolites and contains numerous antioxidants, including flavonoids; hydroxycinnamic acids; carotenoids; chlorophylls; and glucosinolates, which can be hydrolyzed to epithionitriles, nitriles, or isothiocyanates. Here, we investigate the effect of reduced exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) and UV (UVA and UVB) light at four different developmental stages of pak choi. We found that both the plant morphology and secondary metabolite profiles were affected by reduced exposure to UVB and UV, depending on the plant’s developmental stage. In detail, mature 15- and 30-leaf plants had higher concentrations of flavonoids, hydroxycinnamic acids, carotenoids, and chlorophylls, whereas sprouts contained high concentrations of glucosinolates and their hydrolysis products. Dry weights and leaf areas increased as a result of reduced UVB and low UV. For the flavonoids and hydroxycinnamic acids in 30-leaf plants, less complex compounds were favored, for example, sinapic acid acylated kaempferol triglycoside instead of the corresponding tetraglycoside. Moreover, also in 30-leaf plants, zeaxanthin, a carotenoid linked to protection during photosynthesis, was increased under low UV conditions. Interestingly, most glucosinolates were not affected by reduced UVB and low UV conditions. However, this study underlines the importance of 4-(methylsulfinyl)butyl glucosinolate in response to UVA and UVB exposure. Further, reduced UVB and low UV conditions resulted in higher concentrations of glucosinolate-derived nitriles. In conclusion, exposure to low doses of UVB and UV from the early to late developmental stages did not result in overall lower concentrations of plant secondary metabolites. KW - flavonoids KW - hydroxycinnamic acids KW - carotenoids KW - glucosinolates KW - nitriles KW - UVB reduction Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.7b03996 SN - 0021-8561 SN - 1520-5118 VL - 66 IS - 7 SP - 1678 EP - 1692 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER -