A de novo-designed protein that precisely assembles a chlorophyll dimer has been developed. The design matches the conformation of the native ‘special pair’ of chlorophylls that functions as the primary electron donor in natural photosynthetic reaction centers. In the designed protein, excitonically coupled chlorophylls participate in energy transfer. The proteins were also redesigned to assemble into 24-chlorophyll nanocages.
- Nathan M. Ennist
- Shunzhi Wang
- David Baker
