Abstract
Action spectroscopy was first used to suggest the nature of pigments, such as in determining the pigments directing photomovement in microorganisms. More recently, by incorporating non-native chromophores, action spectroscopy of photomovement has been used as a tool to study the mechanisms of action of pigments, chromophore synthesis, and the molecular environments of chromophores within photoreceptor pigments. The evolution of photoreceptors has been advanced by the identification of photopigments in microorganisms belonging to different branches on the evolutionary tree suggesting a branching of the crown eukaryotes. Theoretical considerations, experimental techniques, difficulties, practical advice and the applications are discussed.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 51-115 |
Number of pages | 65 |
Journal | Comprehensive Series in Photosciences |
Volume | 1 |
Issue number | C |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2001 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biophysics
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (miscellaneous)
- Dermatology