phycobilin

n.
Any of a group of water-soluble proteinaceous pigments that occur in red algae and cyanobacteria.

[PHYCO- + Latin bīlis, bile + -IN.]

Any member of a class of intensely colored pigments found in some algae that absorb light for photosynthesis. Phycobilins are structurally related to mammalian bile pigments, and they are unique among photosynthetic pigments in being covalently bound to proteins (phycobiliproteins). In at least two groups of algae, phycobiliproteins are aggregated in a highly ordered protein complex called a phycobilisome.

Phycobilins occur only in three groups of algae: cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), Rhodophyta (red algae), and Cryptophyceae (cryptophytes), and are largely responsible for their distinctive colors, including blue-green, yellow, and red. Five different phycobilins have been identified to date, but the two most common are phycocyanobilin, a blue pigment, and phycoerythrobilin, a red pigment. In the cell, these pigments absorb light maximally in the orange (620-nanometers) and green (550-nm) portion of the visible light spectrum, respectively. A blue-green light (495-nm) absorbing pigment, phycourobilin, is found in some cyanobacteria and red algae. A yellow light (575-nm) absorbing pigment, phycobiliviolin (also called cryptoviolin) is apparently found in all cryptophytes but in only a few cyanobacteria. A fifth phycobilin, which absorbs deep-red light (697 nm), has been identified spectrally in some cryptophytes, but its chemical properties are unknown. See also Cryptophyceae; Cyanophyceae; Rhodophyceae.

Phycobilins are associated with the photosynthetic light-harvesting system in chloroplasts of red algae and cryptophytes and with the photosynthetic membranes of cyanobacteria, which lack chloroplasts. Phycobilins are covalently bound to a water-soluble protein that aggregates on the surface of the photosynthetic membrane. All other photosynthetic pigments (for example, chlorophylls and carotenoids) are bound to photosynthetic membrane proteins by hydrophobic attraction. Phycobiliprotein can constitute a major fraction of an alga. In some cyanobacteria, phycobiliproteins can account for more than 50% of the soluble protein and one-quarter of the dry weight of the cell. See also Cell plastids.

Phycobilins are photosynthetic accessory pigments that absorb light efficiently in the yellow, green, orange, or red portion of the light spectrum, where chlorophyll a only weakly absorbs. Light energy absorbed by phycobilins is transferred with greater than 90% efficiency to chlorophyll a, where it is used for photosynthesis. See also Chlorophyll; Photosynthesis.

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The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: water-soluble proteinaceous pigments found in red algae and cyanobacteria

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