Shedding light on photosynthesis at sea

Using cryogenic electron microscopy, a research team has revealed, for the first time, the structures and binding environments of pigments bound to a protein called a photosynthetic antenna of the marine green macroalga Codium fragile. The team’s results extend our knowledge about the molecular mechanism by which blue-green light — the only light available in deep seawater — is efficiently utilized for photosynthesis.