Data for Photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes as highly-connected networks : implications for robust energy transport

PPCs comprise a set of chromophore molecules, typically bacteriochlorophyll species, held in a well-defined arrangement by a protein scaffold; this relatively rigid distribution leads to a viewpoint in which the chromophore subsystem is treated as a network, where chromophores represent vertices and inter-chromophore electronic couplings represent edges.

This graph-based view can then be used as a framework within which to interrogate the role of structural and electronic organization in PPCs. Here, we use this network-based viewpoint to compare EET dynamics in the light-harvesting complex II (LHC-II) system commonly found in higher plants and the Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) complex found in green sulfur bacteria. The results of our simple network-based investigations clearly demonstrate the role of network connectivity and multiple EET pathways on the efficient and robust EET dynamics in these PPCs, and highlight a role for such considerations in the development of new artificial light-harvesting systems.<br><br>Simulation results from Figures 4-9 in submitted article.