Tuning the In Vivo Photosynthetic Activity of Cyanobacteria’s Phycobilisome complex: A Spectroscopic Approach

In this study we developed and demonstrated a simple and straightforward method to nongenetically tune the photo response in Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 bacteria using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) functionalized with the cell-penetrating TAT peptide and the phycobilisome-degradation adaptor nblA peptide. The nanomaterial-peptide hybrid complex (NPHC) modulated energy transfer within phycobilisome complexes (PBCs), inducing a photoluminescence (PL) enhancement or quenching across pigments in a stress-free environment. SWCNTs facilitated peptide - pigment interaction. The NPHC strategy balanced light-harvesting optimization through PL amplification and photoprotection through energy redistribution. This gives potential insights for engineering cyanobacterial biohybrid systems in bioenergy and stress-resilient agriculture.