Modifying photosystem antennas to improve light harvesting for photosynthesis in crops

All photosynthetic organisms contain a light-harvesting antenna system, in which pigments absorb solar photons and energy is delivered to the photochemical reaction centers, and subsequent biochemical reactions store it for cellular use. The identity and quantity of pigments and the proteins that bind them in antenna system depend on the type of photosynthetic organism and its environment. Higher plants typically have several hundred antenna pigments associated with each reaction center. This chapter discusses the identity of various photopigments and their associated antenna system in the context of current research to improve the overall efficiency of photosynthesis. Various efforts to improve the efficiency of photosynthesis include expanding the Photosynthetically Active Radiation beyond the 400-700 nm range, decreasing the number of pigments associated with the reaction center and engineering the antenna systems of plants so as to create a gradient of light absorption from the top to the bottom of the canopy.