In this talk, I will provide an overview of our group's efforts in understanding the initial light-harvesting step in green sulfur bacteria at a systems level using large-scale excitonic energy transfer simulations. Based on the input of atomistic simulations, we develop models that incorporate thousands of bacteriochlorophyll molecules to predict the mechanisms and timescales of energy harvesting in this remarkable organism. I will discuss our theoretical efforts and overview our initial collaboration with biologists to modify the growth conditions of this organisms and understand its changes in light-harvesting properties. The role of quantum mechanics in the process will be discussed.

Light harvesting in green sulfur bacteria: Entire apparatus computational studies of excitonic energy transfer

246th National Meeting (2013)

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