Chlorophyll f

Chlorophyll f (Chl f) is a form of chlorophyll that absorbs further into the red (near-infrared light) spectrum than other chlorophylls. In 2010, it was reported by Min Chen to be present in stromatolites from Western Australia's Shark Bay.^[2][3] It has been found in cyanobacteria inside deep caves which appear perfectly dark in the visible light spectrum, but are lit up in near-infrared light which reflects more effectively from the rocks, allowing the cyanobacteria to photosynthesize using light with a wavelength as long as 780nm.^[4][5]

Quick facts Names, Identifiers ...

Chlorophyll f

Names
IUPAC name [methyl 14-ethyl-8-formyl-4,13,18-trimethyl-20-oxo-3-{3-oxo-3-[(3,7,11,15-tetramethylhexadec-2-en-1-yl)oxy]propyl}-9-vinylphorbine-21-carboxylatato(2−)-κ4N23,N24,N25,N26]magnesium
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)	Interactive image Interactive image
ChEBI	CHEBI:61290
PubChem CID	50909847
InChI InChI=1S/C55H71N4O6.Mg/c1-12-38-35(8)42-27-46-39(13-2)41(30-60)47(57-46)28-43-36(9)40(52(58-43)50-51(55(63)64-11)54(62)49-37(10)44(59-53(49)50)29-45(38)56-42)23-24-48(61)65-26-25-34(7)22-16-21-33(6)20-15-19-32(5)18-14-17-31(3)4;/h13,25,27-33,36,40,51H,2,12,14-24,26H2,1,3-11H3,(H-,56,57,58,59,60,62);/q-1;+2/p-1/b34-25+;/t32-,33-,36+,40+,51-;/m1./s1 Key: FBMIDEWOZNHQKD-VBYMZDBQSA-M
SMILES CCC1=C(C2=NC1=CC3=C(C4=C([N-]3)C(=C5[C@H]([C@@H](C(=N5)C=C6C(=C(C(=C2)[N-]6)C=C)C=O)C)CCC(=O)OC/C=C(\C)/CCC[C@H](C)CCC[C@H](C)CCCC(C)C)[C@H](C4=O)C(=O)OC)C)C.[Mg+2] COC(=O)C9C(=O)c6c(C)c3n7c6c9c2C(CCC(=O)COCC=C(C)CCCC(C)CCCC(C)CCCC(C)C)C(C)c1cc5n8c(cc4n([Mg]78n12)c(c=3)c(CC)c4c)c(C=C)c5C=O
Properties
Chemical formula	C55H70O6N4Mg[1]
Molar mass	907.4725 g/mol
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). Infobox references

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The function of Chl f in photosynthetic reactions in plants and the wider ecological distribution of Chl f remains little studied. Chl f has been shown to support some of the roles in photosynthetic reactions, in both the energy transfer and in the charge separation processes.^[6][7][8][9]

Chl f is produced from chlorophyllide f by chlorophyll synthase. Chlorophyllide f is made from chlorophyllide a by an enzyme known as PsbA4 or ChlF.^[10]