- Characterization of a trimeric light-harvesting complex in the
diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum built of FcpA and FcpE proteins
(2010) - Fucoxanthin chlorophyll proteins (Fcps), the light-
harvesting antennas of heterokont algae, are encoded by a
multigene family and are highly similar with respect to their
molecular masses as well as to their pigmentation, making it
difficult to purify single Fcps. In this study, a hexa-histidine
tag was genetically added to the C-terminus of the FcpA protein
of the pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. A transgenic
strain expressing the recombinant His-tagged FcpA protein in
addition to the endogenous wild type Fcps was created. This
strategy allowed, for the first time, the purification of a
specific, stable trimeric Fcp complex. In addition, a pool of
various trimeric Fcps was also purified from the wild-type cells
using sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation and gel
filtration. In both the His-tagged and the wild-type Fcps,
excitation energy coupling between f