The pigment 8-isobutyl-12-ethyl-([,][I,E])bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) c is key to chlorosomal self-aggregation structures in vivo and was found to produce an organogel in carbon tetrachloride in vitro. Therefore, [I,E]BChl species have been the focus of both fundamental and applicational studies. Since these pigments are very rare in naturally occurring bacterial cells, a method was designed for large-scale production. Here, mutants over-expressing C8²-methyltransferase BchQ were constructed using the wild-type and mutant stains of the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobaculum limnaeum. The C8-hyper-alkylated BChls c, d, e, and f, as well as [I,E]BChl species were synthesized by cultured cells. The results showed that more than 95 % of C8-hyper-alkylated BChl c and BChl d were successfully produced in bacterial cells. These findings should prove useful for further development of new chlorosomal models and antenna devices for artificial photosynthesis.

色素8-异丁基-12-乙基-（[，] [I，E]）细菌叶绿素（BChl）c是体内绿体自聚集结构的关键，并在体外发现在四氯化碳中产生有机凝胶。因此，[I，E] BChl物种已成为基础研究和应用研究的焦点。由于这些色素在天然细菌细胞中非常罕见，因此设计了一种大规模生产的方法。在这里，使用绿色硫磺细菌Chlorobaculum limnaeum的野生型和突变体染色构建了过量表达C8 ^2-甲基转移酶BchQ的突变体。C8-超烷基化的BChls c，d，e和f以及[I，E] BChl物种均由培养的细胞合成。该结果表明，C8-超烷基化BCHL 95％以上Ç和BCHL d成功在细菌细胞中产生。这些发现应证明对进一步开发用于人工光合作用的新的绿体模型和天线装置很有用。