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Cited by 3,315Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemical StudiesPhotosynthetic Processes and MechanismsPhotochemistry and Electron Transfer Studies

Evidence for wavelike energy transfer through quantum coherence in photosynthetic systems

Engel, Gregory S., Calhoun, Tessa R., Read, Elizabeth L., Ahn, Tae-Kyu, Mančal, Tomáš, Cheng, Yuan-Chung, Blankenship, Robert E., Fleming, Graham R.·2007·Nature
DOI 10.1038/nature05678
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Abstract

Photosynthetic complexes are exquisitely tuned to capture solar light efficiently, and then transmit the excitation energy to reaction centres, where long term energy storage is initiated. The energy transfer mechanism is often described by semiclassical models that invoke 'hopping' of excited-state populations along discrete energy levels. Two-dimensional Fourier transform electronic spectroscopy has mapped these energy levels and their coupling in the Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) bacteriochlorophyll complex, which is found in green sulphur bacteria and acts as an energy 'wire' connecting a large peripheral light-harvesting antenna, the chlorosome, to the reaction centre. The spectroscopic data clearly document the dependence of the dominant energy transport pathways on the spatial properties of the excited-state wavefunctions of the whole bacteriochlorophyll complex. But the intricate dynamics of quantum coherence, which has no classical analogue, was largely neglected in the analyses-even though electronic energy transfer involving oscillatory populations of donors and acceptors was first discussed more than 70 years ago, and electronic quantum beats arising from quantum coherence in photosynthetic complexes have been predicted and indirectly observed. Here we extend previous two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy investigations of the FMO bacteriochlorophyll complex, and obtain direct evidence for remarkably long-lived electronic quantum coherence playing an important part in energy transfer processes within this system. The quantum coherence manifests itself in characteristic, directly observable quantum beating signals among the excitons within the Chlorobium tepidum FMO complex at 77 K. This wavelike characteristic of the energy transfer within the photosynthetic complex can explain its extreme efficiency, in that it allows the complexes to sample vast areas of phase space to find the most efficient path.

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  • Evidence has accumulated that plants routinely use quantum coherent electron transport at ambient temperatures in photosynthesis.

    “In the past 6 years, evidence has accumulated that plants routinely use quantum coherent electron transport at ambient temperatures in photosynthesis [123,124].”

    From Consciousness in the universe (2014) · cites this paper as [123]

  • Electronic quantum effects occur at ambient temperatures in proteins involved in photosynthesis, thought to be mediated by coherent protein mechanical vibrations.

    “Electronic quantum effects occur at ambient temperatures in proteins involved in photosynthesis [123,124], these being thought to be mediated by coherent protein mechanical vibrations [125], very similar to a mechanism proposed by Fröhlich over 40 years ago, and to the mechanism we propose here in tubulin.”

    From Consciousness in the universe (2014) · cites this paper as [123]

  • Evidence of quantum mechanical effects that cannot be accounted for by classical physics has been found in a range of biological processes.

    “Such studies have revealed evidence of quantum mechanical effects, which cannot be accounted for by classical physics, in a range of biological processes.”

    From The future of quantum biology (2018) · cites this paper as [3]

  • The reported detection of remarkably long-lived (660 fs and longer) electronic quantum coherence during excitation energy transfer in a photosynthetic system revived interest in the role of non-trivial quantum mechanics to explain fundamental life processes.

    “The reported detection of the remarkably long-lived (660 fs and longer) electronic quantum coherence during excitation energy transfer in a photosynthetic system revived interest in the role of 'non-trivial' quantum mechanics to explain the fundamental life processes of living organisms [3].”

    From The future of quantum biology (2018) · cites this paper as [3]

  • The first 2D-ES study on the FMO complex of green sulfur bacteria, published in 2007 by the Fleming group, revealed that particular coherences lasted surprisingly long (660 fs).

    “The first such study, which was conducted on the Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) complex of green sulfur bacteria and published in 2007 by the Fleming group, revealed that particular coherences lasted surprisingly long (660 fs) [3].”

    From The future of quantum biology (2018) · cites this paper as [3]

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Authors
Engel, G. S., Calhoun, T. R., Read, E. L., Ahn, T.-K., Mančal, T., Cheng, Y.-C., Blankenship, R. E., & Fleming, G. R.
Affiliations
  • QB3 (US)
  • Washington University in St. Louis (US)
Corresponding author
Fleming, Graham R.
ORCID
Venue
Nature
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2007-04
Volume
446
Issue
7137
Pages
782-786
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
DOI
10.1038/nature05678
OpenAlex
W2058468006
Cited by
3,315
References
31
Citations by year
2026: 158 · 2025: 164 · 2024: 142 · 2023: 118 · 2022: 137 · 2021: 144 · 2020: 168 · 2019: 177 · 2018: 173 · 2017: 214 · 2016: 225 · 2015: 202 · 2014: 229 · 2013: 247 · 2012: 210
FWCI
73.11
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics › Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemical Studies
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms
  • Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Physical and Theoretical Chemistry › Photochemistry and Electron Transfer Studies
Keywords
quantum beats, exciton transfer, light-harvesting complexes, two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy, Chlorobium tepidum, green sulfur bacteria, Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex, long-lived coherence, energy transfer efficiency, exciton dynamics, phase space sampling
MeSH terms
Bacterial Proteins, Electron Transport, Electrons, Photosynthesis, Spectrum Analysis, Chlorobi, Chlorobium, Light-Harvesting Protein Complexes

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