News Chemistry

One photon is all it takes to kick off photosynthesis

Researchers demonstrated the role of a single particle of light in photosynthetic bacteria

An image of photosynthetic bacteria appears in shades of blue, purple and green on a black background.

In photosynthetic bacteria like Rhodobacter sphaeroides (pictured), photosynthesis is kicked off by an individual particle of light, new laboratory experiments have confirmed.

Argonne National Laboratory (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

By Emily Conover

For photosynthesis, one photon is all it takes.

Only a single particle of light is required to spark the first steps of the biological process that converts light into chemical energy, scientists report June 14 in Nature.