Melih Sener, Johan Strümpfer, Jen Hsin, Danielle Chandler, Simon Scheuring,
C. Neil Hunter, and Klaus Schulten.
Förster energy transfer theory as reflected in the structures of
photosynthetic light harvesting systems.
ChemPhysChem, 12:518-531, 2011.
(PMC: 3098534)
SENE2011
Förster resonant energy transfer underlies a fundamental process in nature, namely the
harvesting of sunlight by photosynthetic life forms. The theoretical framework developed
by Förster and others describes how electronic excitation migrates in the photosynthetic
apparatus of plants, algae, and bacteria from light absorbing pigments to so-called
reaction centers where light energy is utilized for the eventual conversion into chemical
energy. The demand for highest possible efficiency of light harvesting appears to have
shaped the evolution of photosynthetic species from bacteria to plants which, despite a
great variation in architecture, display common structural themes determined by the
physics of energy transfer as described first by Förster. In this review, the Förster theory of
excitation transfer is summarized including recent extensions, and the relevance of the
theory for photosynthetic systems found in purple bacteria, cynobacteria, and plants is
demonstrated. In an Appendix, Förster's famous energy transfer formula, as used today in
many fields of science, is derived.
