A Red-Shifted Chlorophyll

TLDR

Chlorophyll gives plants their green color, and several variants have been identified, including a newly discovered form in bacteria from Shark Bay, Australia, whose cellular role remains to be determined. The variant shows a red‑shifted absorption spectrum extending into the near‑infrared due to a peripheral formyl group.

Abstract

Chlorophyll Sees Red Among the first facts students learn about the natural world is that plants owe their green color to the pigment chlorophyll. There have actually been a handful of slightly different chlorophyll variants uncovered over the years, and Chen et al. (p. 1318 , published online 19 August) have found another in bacteria from Shark Bay, Australia. The chlorophyll variant displayed a red-shifted absorption spectrum, which extended into the near-infrared region due to the insertion of a formyl group on the molecule's periphery. The precise cellular function of the pigment awaits further study.