Light state transition is a physiological function of oxygenic organisms to balance the excitation of photosystem II (PSII)
and photosystem I (PSI), hence a prerequisite of oxygen-evolving photosynthesis. For cyanobacteria, phycobilisome (PBS) movement
during light state transition has long been expected, but never observed. Here the dynamic behavior of PBS movement during
state transition in cyanobacterium
Synechocystis PCC6803 is experimentally detected via time-dependent fluorescence fluctuation. Under continuous excitation of PBSs in the
intact cells, time-dependent fluorescence fluctuations resemble “damped oscillation” mode, which indicates dynamic searching
of a PBS in an “overcorrection” manner for the “balance” position where PSII and PSI are excited equally. Based on the parallel
model, it is suggested that the “damped oscillation” fluorescence fluctuation is originated from a collective movement of
all the PBSs to find the “balance” position. Based on the continuous fluorescence fluctuation during light state transition
and also variety of solar spectra, it may be deduced that light state transition of oxygen-evolution organisms is a natural
behavior that occurs daily rather than an artificial phenomenon at extreme light conditions in laboratory.
Keywords Phycobilisome - Photosystem I - Photosystem II - State transition - Mobility - Energy distribution