infrared millimeter terahertz waves scientific conferences

Orange carotenoid protein (OCP) controls efficiency of the phycobilisome (PBS), the light harvesting antenna in cyanobacteria, to prevent oxidative damage. In low light, carotenoid bound OCP appears orange (OCPo) and is inactive. Illumination by strong light converts OCP to the active, red (OCPR) state, which interacts with the PBS. A comparison of anisotropic THz microscopy measurements of dark adapted (OCPo) and illuminated OCP crystals indicate differences in their vibrational modes that may be important for OCP-PBS interactions.