Main description:

Written by leading experts in the area of carotenoid research, this book gives a comprehensive overview of a various topics in the field. The contributions review the basic hypotheses about how carotenoids function and give details regarding testing different molecular models using state-of-the-art experimental methodologies.

Contents:

Preface. Color Plates. Part I: Biosynthetic Pathways and the Distribution of Carotenoids in Photosynthetic Organisms. 1. Carotenoids in Photosynthesis: An Historical Perspective; Govindjee. 2. Carotenoid Synthesis and Function in Plants: Insights from Mutant Studies in Arabidopsis thaliana; D. DellaPenna. 3. Carotenoids and Carotenogenesis in Anoxygenic Photosynthetic Bacteria; S. Takaichi. Part II: Structure of Carotenoid-Chlorophyll Protein Complexes. 4. The Structure and Function of the LH2 Complex from Rhodopseudomonas acidophila Strain 10050, with Special Reference to the Bound Carotenoid; R.J. Cogdell, et al. 5. Carotenoids as Components of the Light-harvesting Proteins of Eukaryotic Algae; R.G. Hiller. 6. The Structure of Reaction Centers from Purple Bacteria; G. Fritzsch, A. Kuglstatter. 7. Carotenoids and the Assembly of Light-Harvesting Complexes; H. Paulsen. Part III: Electronic Structure, Stereochemistry, Spectroscopy, Dynamics and Radicals. 8. The Electronic States of Carotenoids; R.L. Christensen. 9. Cis-Trans Carotenoids in Photosynthesis: Configurations, Excited-State Properties and Physiological Functions; Y. Koyama, R. Fujii. 10. The Electronic Structure, Stereochemistry and Resonance Raman Spectroscopy of Carotenoids; B. Robert. 11. Electron Magnetic Resonance of Carotenoids; A. Angerhofer. 12. Carotenoid Radicals and the Interaction of Carotenoids with Active Oxygen Species; R. Edge, T.G. Truscott. 13. Incorporation of Carotenoids into ReactionCenter and Light-Harvesting Pigment-protein Complexes; H.A. Frank. Part IV: Ecophysiology and the Xanthophyll Cycle. 14. Ecophysiology of the Xanthophyll Cycle; B. Demmig-Adams, et al. 15. Regulation of the Structure and Function of the Light-Harvesting Complexes of Photosystem II by the Xanthophyll Cycle; P. Horton, et al. 16. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the Xanthophyll Cycle; H.Y. Yamamoto, et al. 17. Relationships Between Antioxidant Metabolism and Carotenoids in the Regulation of Photosynthesis; C.H. Foyer, J. Harbinson. Part V: Model Systems. 18. Novel and Biomimetic Functions of Carotenoids in Artificial Photosynthesis; T.A. Moore, et al. 19. Physical Properties of Carotenoids in the Solid State; H. Hashimoto. 20. Carotenoids in Membranes; W.I. Gruszecki. Index.