Describing processes in photosynthetic reaction center ensembles using a Monte Carlo kinetic model

Maslakov A.S.
 pdf (746K)

Photosynthetic apparatus of a plant cell consists of multiple photosynthetic electron transport chains (ETC). Each ETC is capable of capturing and utilizing light quanta, that drive electron transport along the chain. Light assimilation efficiency depends on the plant’s current physiological state. The energy of the part of quanta that cannot be utilized, dissipates into heat, or is emitted as fluorescence. Under high light conditions fluorescence levels gradually rise to the maximum level. The curve describing that rise is called fluorescence rise (FR). It has a complex shape and that shape changes depending on the photosynthetic apparatus state. This gives one the opportunity to investigate that state only using the non invasive measuring of the FR.

When measuring fluorescence in experimental conditions, we get a response from millions of photosynthetic units at a time. In order to reproduce the probabilistic nature of the processes in a photosynthetic ETC, we created a Monte Carlo model of this chain. This model describes an ETC as a sequence of electron carriers in a thylakoid membrane, connected with each other. Those carriers have certain probabilities of capturing light photons, transferring excited states, or reducing each other, depending on the current ETC state. The events that take place in each of the model photosynthetic ETCs are registered, accumulated and used to create fluorescence rise and electron carrier redox states accumulation kinetics. This paper describes the model structure, the principles of its operation and the relations between certain model parameters and the resulting kinetic curves shape. Model curves include photosystem II reaction center fluorescence rise and photosystem I reaction center redox state change kinetics under different conditions.

Keywords: kinetic Monte Carlo method, photosystem, electron transport, oxygen evolving complex, plastoquinone pool, model
Citation in English: Maslakov A.S. Describing processes in photosynthetic reaction center ensembles using a Monte Carlo kinetic model // Computer Research and Modeling, 2020, vol. 12, no. 5, pp. 1207-1221
Citation in English: Maslakov A.S. Describing processes in photosynthetic reaction center ensembles using a Monte Carlo kinetic model // Computer Research and Modeling, 2020, vol. 12, no. 5, pp. 1207-1221
DOI: 10.20537/2076-7633-2020-12-5-1207-1221
URL: http://crm-en.ics.org.ru/journal/article/2991/
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Indexed in Scopus

Full-text version of the journal is also available on the web site of the scientific electronic library eLIBRARY.RU

The journal is included in the Russian Science Citation Index

The journal is included in the RSCI

International Interdisciplinary Conference "Mathematics. Computing. Education"

Copyright © 2009–2024 Institute of Computer Science