The Zigmantas Group has published a new article in Journal of Physical Chemistry letters entitled "Origin of the Two Bands in the B800 Ring and Their Involvement in the Energy Transfer Network of Allochromatium vinosum"

"Bacterial photosynthesis features robust and adaptable energy-harvesting processes in which light-harvesting proteins play a crucial role. The peripheral lightharvesting complex of the purple bacterium Allochromatium vinosum is particularly distinct, featuring a double peak structure in its B800 absorption band. Two hypotheses - not necessarily mutually exclusive - concerning the origin of this splitting have been proposed; either two distinct B800 bacteriochlorophyll site energies are involved, or an excitonic dimerization of bacteriochlorophylls within the B800 ring takes place. Through the use of two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy, we present unambiguous evidence that excitonic interaction shapes the split band. We further identify and characterize all of the energy transfer pathways within this complex by using a global kinetic fitting procedure. Our approach demonstrates how the combination of two-dimensional spectral resolution and self-consistent fitting allows for extraction of information on light-harvesting processes, which would otherwise be inaccessible due to signal congestion."