A model for the photosynthetic apparatus of purple bacteria

Abstract The photosynthetic apparatus of purple bacteria is composed of light-harvesting complexes and reaction centres. Recent work on the structures of light-harvesting complexes combined with existing knowledge of the structure of the reaction centre now makes it feasible, for the first time, to model the entire photosynthetic apparatus. Questions can be asked about the functional implications of such a model in the light of the most recent spectroscopic data.