Sharp‐line structure in the fluorescence and excitation spectra of greening etiolated leaves

Abstract

Vibrationally resolved sharp‐line optical fluorescence and excitation spectra are observed for etiolated and greening barley leaves at T = 5 K. Conditions necessary for obtaining fine‐structured spectra in the case of chromophores in biological cells are discussed. The observed fine‐line spectra confirm earlier results that the inactive protochlorophyll F630 and initial chlorophyll(ide) forms are present as monomeric pigment molecules weakly bound to proteins, while the active holochrome F655 is an aggregated protochlorophyllide‐protein complex