Fluorescence lifetime, yield, energy transfer and spectrum in photosynthesis, 1950–1960

Abstract

The fluorescence lifetime of chlorophyll a gives information about the primary photo-physical events in photosynthesis. Most of the light energy absorbed by chlorophylls is utilized for photochemistry. There are two main additional pathways competing for the absorbed light energy: fluorescence and radiationless internal conversion (heat). Only a few percent of the absorbed energy proceeds along these two pathways. This historical minireview focuses on the first direct measurements of the lifetime of chlorophyll fluorescence, the time it takes to transfer energy from phycoerythrin to chlorophyll a, and the discovery of the fluorescence band at 720 nm (F720; then attributed to a dimer of chlorophyll). These works were carried out during the the late 1950s to the early 1960s in the laboratory of Professor Eugene Rabinowitch at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign [Brody (1995) Photosynth Res 43: 67–74].

Formerly, Department of Biology, New York University, New York and Carlsberg Laboratory, Copenhagen, Denmark;

This minireview is dedicated to Professor Eugene Rabinowitch (1901–1973), mentor of the author (Steve Brody) as well as of the editor and author’s classmate (Govindjee). The career and contributions of Eugene Rabinowitch are available in a dedication by Bannister (1972).