Chlorophyll f

Chlorophyll f is a hypothesized form of chlorophyll that absorbs further in the red (infrared light) than other chlorophylls.^[1][2] It was reported from stromatolites from Western Australia's Shark Bay.^[3]

The finding was made by scientists at the University of Sydney led by Dr. Min Chen, and is the first discovery of a new form of chlorophyll in 60 years.^[3] However, the function of chlorophyll f in photosynthetic reactions is uncertain and the ecological distribution of chlorophyll f remains unknown.

Based on NMR data, optical and mass spectra and density functional theory (DFT) simulation, it is thought to have a structure of C₅₅H₇₀O₆N₄Mg or [2-formyl]-chlorophyll a.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Chen, M. .; Schliep, M. .; Willows, R. D.; Cai, Z. -L.; Neilan, B. A.; Scheer, H. . (2010). "A Red-Shifted Chlorophyll". Science 329 (5997): 1318–1319. Bibcode 2010Sci...329.1318C. doi:10.1126/science.1191127. PMID 20724585.  edit
2. ^ Ferris Jabr (August 19, 2010). "A New Form of Chlorophyll?". Scientific American. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=new-form-chlorophyll. Retrieved 2010-09-07. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Australian scientists discover first new chlorophyll in 60 years". University of Sydney. 20 August 2010. http://www.usyd.edu.au/news/84.html?newsstoryid=5463.