text: Orange carotenoid protein (OCP) is a water-soluble protein which plays a role in photoprotection in diverse cyanobacteria.  It is the only photoactive protein known to use a carotenoid as the photoresponsive chromophore. The protein consists of two domains, with a single keto-carotenoid molecule non-covalently bound between the two domains.  It is a very efficient quencher of excitation energy absorbed by the primary light-harvesting antenna complexes of cyanobacteria, the phycobilisomes.  The quenching is induced by blue-green light.  It is also capable of preventing oxidative damage by directly scavenging singlet oxygen (O).