96 that gives a realistic spectral shape in the

red region, C G is at most barely enough to account for a cell’s DNA, even ABT 737 though the parameter that is maximized by the optimization, P G, is proportional to it. If the total energy cost of the light harvesting system is about 1/3 of that of the cell (Raven 1984), \(C_P_\rm out\) would be nearly 2/3. Apparently, the assumed hyperbolic saturation of P out with P in at a level proportional to \(C_P_\rm out\)/C G implies that \(C_P_\rm out\) represents the cost of everything needed for growth (except light harvesting), rather than just the photosynthetic apparatus. Conclusion The analysis presented here shows that the red absorption band of the photosynthetic apparatus

may well be optimized for maximum growth power in spectrally undistorted sunlight, given the energy cost of light harvesting complexes. If eFT-508 order so, however, the same optimization does not predict any absorption at other wavelengths. In the blue, such absorption is strong because of the chlorophylls required to shape the red absorption band and the carotenoids required to SC79 manufacturer quench triplet states inevitably formed in those chlorophylls. This blue absorption should probably be regarded as a consequence rather than a cause of the evolutionary selection of the molecular structures responsible, and no special significance should be attached to the fact that they absorb much less in the green region of the spectrum. Acknowledgements We thank P. Gast for the chromatophores, J. Harbinson and S.C. Hille for advice, A. Telfer and C.F. Yocum for editorial comments, and T.J. Aartsma for support. This work was supported by the Netherlands

Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), Earth and Life Sciences Area (ALW). Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, Fludarabine datasheet and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited. Electronic supplementary material Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material. Supplementary material 1 (PDF 83 kb) References Björn LO (1976) Why are plants green? relationships between pigment absorption and photosynthetic efficiency. Photosynthetica 10:121–129 Björn LO, Papageorgiou GC, Blankenship RE, Govindjee (2009) A viewpoint: why chlorophyll a? Photosynth Res 99:85–98CrossRefPubMed Goldsworthy A (1987) Why did nature select green plants? Nature 328:207–208CrossRef Hale GM, Querry MR (1973) Optical constants of water in 200 nm to 200 μm wavelength region. Appl Opt 12:555–563CrossRef Latimer P, Eubanks CAH (1962) Absorption spectrophotometry of turbid suspensions: a method of correcting for large systematic distortions.