Primary Processes in Photobiology : Proceedings of the 12th Taniguchi Symposium, Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, December 7–12, 1986

Living things use solar energy in two ways: in the transmission of information and in the conversion of light energy to chemical energy. In order to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of highly sensitive visual responses and other photosensitive responses of biological systems, and the very efficient transduction of photoenergy to chemical energy in photosynthesis, it is important to observe molecular processes in biological systems. Using highly developed laser spectroscopic techniques, great progress has recently been achieved in the area of various primary processes in photobiology. It was therefore an excellent time to hold the 12th Taniguchi International Symposium, Biophysics Division, on Primary Processes in Photobiology. This volume is the proceedings of that symposium. Among the topics discussed are the femtosecond molecular processes in photosynthetic bacteriochlorophyll and the recently discovered intermediates in the photocycles of rhodopsin (found in the visual pigments of many animals), bacteriorhodopsin (found in the proton-pumping pigments of halobacteria) and retinochrome. New techniques for the measurement of the primary processes are also reported. Front Matter....Pages I-XI Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Vibrational and Electronic Dephasing Time Measurement with the Use of Temporally Incoherent Light....Pages 2-11 Front Matter....Pages 13-13 Energy Gap Law in Electron Transfer Reaction....Pages 14-22 Analysis of the Excitation Energy Transfer in Spinach Chloroplasts at Room Temperature....Pages 23-32 Photonic Energy Transport in Phycobilin-Chlorophyll System: A Comparative Study with Artificial Multilayer Films....Pages 33-42 Calculations of Spectroscopic Properties and Electron Transfer Kinetics of Photosynthetic Bacterial Reaction Centers....Pages 43-51 Femtosecond Absorption Studies of the Primary Events in Bacterial Photosynthesis and Light- and Dark-Adapted Bacteriorhodopsin....Pages 52-60 The Primary Photochemical Reactions in Systems I and II of Photosynthesis....Pages 61-69 Phototransformation Pathway of Phytochrome....Pages 70-79 Photochemical Holeburning and Stark Spectroscopy of Photosynthetic Reaction Centers....Pages 80-90 Front Matter....Pages 91-91 Photochemical Primary Process of Octopus Rhodopsin....Pages 92-100 Phototaxis and the Second Sensory Pigment in Halobacterium halobium ....Pages 101-109 Photocycles of Sensory Rhodopsin....Pages 110-116 Flash Photolysis Study on Sensory Rhodopsin and Phoborhodopsin....Pages 117-124 Photochemistry of Retinochrome Studied by Nanosecond and Picosecond Spectroscopy....Pages 125-133 Front Matter....Pages 135-135 Determination of Chromophore Structure and Photochemistry in Bacteriorhodopsin with Resonance Raman, NMR, and Chemical Analogues....Pages 136-143 On the Nature of the Primary Photochemical Events in Rhodopsin and Bacteriorhodopsin....Pages 144-153 Two Kinds of Bacteriorhodopsin Analogues Synthesized from Naphthylretinal....Pages 154-163 A New Intermediate in the Photocycle of Bacteriorhodopsin....Pages 164-172 Structure Change of Bacteriorhodopsin and the Mechanism of Proton Pump....Pages 173-182 Activity of Bacteriorhodopsin in the Presence of a Large pH Gradient....Pages 183-192 Front Matter....Pages 135-135 Picosecond and Nanosecond Spectroscopies of the Photochemical Cycles of Acidified Bacteriorhodopsin....Pages 193-202 Structure of Bacteriorhodopsin and Halorhodopsin in Relation to the Pumping function....Pages 203-212 Picosecond Intermediates in the Bacteriorhodopsin Photocycle....Pages 213-222 The Role of Metal Ions in Bacteriorhodopsin Function....Pages 223-232 Transient Resonance Raman Spectra of Bacteriorhodopsin and Halorhodopsin....Pages 233-241 Back Matter....Pages 243-243 Contents: New Experimental Techniques Photosynthesis and Phototransformation Rhodopsin, Sensory Rhodopsin, Phoborhodopsin, and Retinochrome Bacteriorhodopsin Index of Contributors.