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169 Electronic excitations of biomolecules studied by quantum chemistry Volkhard Helms Significant methodological advances have been made over GFP variant DsRed, the calcium-sensitive Aequorin , the past ten years in developing reliable quantum chemical rhodopsin and the photoactive yellow protein (PYP). The methods for the treatment of electronically excited states. chemical structures of some of their chromophores are These methods can nowadays be used routinely by the shown in Figure 1. Corresponding to the role of PYP as a experienced researcher to accurately compute excitation signaling protein, the chromophore of PYP undergoes a spectra of medium-sized organic molecules; results have been light-driven isomerization, which causes considerable reported for several popular photobiological systems, changes on the nearby exposed protein surface. GFP, on including green fluorescent protein. First steps are currently the other hand, absorbs blue light emitted from Aequorin being taken to account for the solvochromic shifts of and emits green light in the jellyfish Aequorea victoria, chromophore excitations caused by particular protein thereby acting as a wavelength shifter. Besides this natural environments and to dynamically simulate photochemical role, GFP and its mutants have become very popular tools reactions in the excited states. in molecular and cell biology for visualizing gene expression and localization in cells and tissue, as well as