A new channel for excitonic transport in the FMO complex

TL;DR

This paper reveals a novel excitonic transport channel in the FMO complex involving specific pigments, which outperforms traditional pathways due to quantum coherence effects, suggesting a potential evolutionary advantage.

Contribution

It introduces a new excitonic transport pathway in FMO, emphasizing the role of quantum coherence in enhancing energy transfer efficiency.

Findings

The new channel involves 7 intramonomeric pigments and their second nearest intermonomeric counterparts.

Quantum coherence plays a key role in optimizing the acceptor levels in the new transport pathway.

The new channel may have been favored by natural selection due to its efficiency.

Abstract

We expose a new excitation transport channel in FMO, consisting of the 7 intramonomeric pigments and their 2nd nearest intermonomeric counterpart. Such a channel outcompetes the standard alternative, where intramonomeric pigments partner with their closest intermonomeric pigment. The efficient performance of the new channel lies at the interplay between incoherent energy transfer and the capacity of quantum coherence to build optimal acceptor levels. Finally, the differential fitness and peculiarity of the new over the alternative channel highlights its possible role within natural selection.