Comparative study of optical absorption and circular dichroism of bacteriochlorophyll oligomers in Triton X-100, the antenna pigment B850, and the primary donor P-860 of photosynthetic bacteria indicates that all are similar dimers of bacteriochlorophyll a.

Dimers of bacteriochlorophyll a (Bchla) with optical absorption maximum at 853 nm and a nonconservative circular dichroism spectrum are formed in a solution of formamide/water that contains micelles of Triton X-100. The apparent equilibrium constant and the corresponding Gibbs energy change for the Bchl self-organization are 4.9 x 10(6) M(-1) and -9.2 kcal/mol, respectively. The experimental absorption and circular dichroism spectra of the in vitro Bchl dimer (termed Bchl-853) are similar to the spectra of the bacterial light-harvesting complex B850 and the primary electron donor P-860 and probably point to a common structural motif. Indeed, simulation of the dimers' spectra (optical absorption and circular dichroism), achieved by using an extended version of the exciton theory, suggests the same geometry as recently elucidated for P-860 by x-ray diffraction crystallography. The proposed geometry is predicted to have the minimum energy in the gas phase. In conclusion, the spectral properties of the bathochromically shifted forms of Bchla are likely a result of strong dipolar interactions in self-organized structures of Bchls.