Significance of protein crowding, order and mobility for photosynthetic membrane functions

2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 967-970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helmut Kirchhoff
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Photosynthetic Apparatus ◽  
Lateral Diffusion ◽  
Functional Communication ◽  
Protein Diffusion ◽  
Higher Plant ◽  
Photosynthetic Membrane ◽  
Light Harvesting Complex ◽  
Light Harvesting Complex Ii

Natural photosynthesis requires diffusion-based processes either for the functional communication of protein complexes or for the adaptation, maintenance and biogenesis of the photosynthetic apparatus. A conceptual problem with lateral diffusion in photosynthetic membranes arises from the fact that these membranes are densely packed with membrane integral protein complexes (molecular crowding). Theoretical analysis of PQ (plastoquinone) and protein diffusion in higher plant grana thylakoids reveal very inefficient lateral diffusion. In contrast, measurement of protein mobility in grana membranes shows that a fraction of protein complexes can move surprisingly fast. It is postulated that organization of protein complexes in supercomplexes and large-scale ordering of Photosystem II and light-harvesting complex II could be strategies for the optimization of diffusion in crowded thylakoid membranes.

scholarly journals The orf162b Sequence ofRhodobacter capsulatus Encodes a Protein Required for Optimal Levels of Photosynthetic Pigment-Protein Complexes

2000 ◽  
Vol 182 (19) ◽  
pp. 5440-5447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muktak Aklujkar ◽  
Andrea L. Harmer ◽  
Roger C. Prince ◽  
J. Thomas Beatty
Keyword(s):  
Rhodobacter Capsulatus ◽  
Light Harvesting ◽  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Photosynthetic Pigment ◽  
Photosynthetic Apparatus ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Reading Frame ◽  
Light Harvesting Complex ◽  
Pseudostationary Phase ◽  
Light Harvesting Complex Ii

ABSTRACT The orf162b sequence, the second open reading frame 3′ of the reaction center (RC) H protein gene puhA in theRhodobacter capsulatus photosynthesis gene cluster, is shown to be transcribed from a promoter located 5′ of puhA. A nonpolar mutation of orf162b was generated by replacing most of the coding region with an antibiotic resistance cartridge. Although the mutant strain initiated rapid photosynthetic growth, growth slowed progressively and cultures often entered a pseudostationary phase. The amounts of the RC and light harvesting complex I (LHI) in cells obtained from such photosynthetic cultures were abnormally low, but these deficiencies were less severe when the mutant was grown to a pseudostationary phase induced by low aeration in the absence of illumination. The orf162b mutation did not significantly affect the expression of apufB::lacZ translationally in-frame gene fusion under the control of the puf promoter, indicating normal transcription and translation of RC and LHI genes. Spontaneous secondary mutations in the strain with theorf162b disruption resulted in a bypass of the photosynthetic growth retardation and reduced the level of light harvesting complex II. These results and the presence of sequences similar to orf162b in other species indicate that the Orf162b protein is required for normal levels of the photosynthetic apparatus in purple photosynthetic bacteria.

Macroorganisation and flexibility of thylakoid membranes

2019 ◽  
Vol 476 (20) ◽  
pp. 2981-3018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petar H. Lambrev ◽  
Parveen Akhtar
Keyword(s):  
Light Harvesting ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Photosynthetic Apparatus ◽  
Dynamic Responses ◽  
State Transitions ◽  
Photochemical Quenching ◽  
Light Harvesting Complex ◽  
Complex Ii ◽  
Light Harvesting Complex Ii

Abstract The light reactions of photosynthesis are hosted and regulated by the chloroplast thylakoid membrane (TM) — the central structural component of the photosynthetic apparatus of plants and algae. The two-dimensional and three-dimensional arrangement of the lipid–protein assemblies, aka macroorganisation, and its dynamic responses to the fluctuating physiological environment, aka flexibility, are the subject of this review. An emphasis is given on the information obtainable by spectroscopic approaches, especially circular dichroism (CD). We briefly summarise the current knowledge of the composition and three-dimensional architecture of the granal TMs in plants and the supramolecular organisation of Photosystem II and light-harvesting complex II therein. We next acquaint the non-specialist reader with the fundamentals of CD spectroscopy, recent advances such as anisotropic CD, and applications for studying the structure and macroorganisation of photosynthetic complexes and membranes. Special attention is given to the structural and functional flexibility of light-harvesting complex II in vitro as revealed by CD and fluorescence spectroscopy. We give an account of the dynamic changes in membrane macroorganisation associated with the light-adaptation of the photosynthetic apparatus and the regulation of the excitation energy flow by state transitions and non-photochemical quenching.

scholarly journals Metabolic regulation of photosynthetic membrane structure tunes electron transfer function

2018 ◽  
Vol 475 (7) ◽  
pp. 1225-1233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew P. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Electron Transfer ◽  
Metabolic Regulation ◽  
Higher Plants ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Feedback Regulation ◽  
Membrane Dynamics ◽  
Dimensional Structure ◽  
Photosynthetic Membrane ◽  
Light Harvesting Complex ◽  
Light Harvesting Complex Ii

The photosynthetic chloroplast thylakoid membrane of higher plants is a complex three-dimensional structure that is morphologically dynamic on a timescale of just a few minutes. The membrane dynamics are driven by the phosphorylation of light-harvesting complex II (LHCII) by the STN7 kinase, which controls the size of the stacked grana region relative to the unstacked stromal lamellae region. Here, I hypothesise that the functional significance of these membrane dynamics is in controlling the partition of electrons between photosynthetic linear and cyclic electron transfer (LET and CET), which determines the ratio of NADPH/ATP produced. The STN7 kinase responds to the metabolic state of the chloroplast by sensing the stromal redox state. A high NADPH/ATP ratio leads to reduction of thioredoxin f (TRXf), which reduces a CxxxC motif in the stromal domain of STN7 leading to its inactivation, whereas a low NADPH/ATP ratio leads to oxidation of TRXf and STN7 activation. Phosphorylation of LHCII leads to smaller grana, which favour LET by speeding up diffusion of electron carriers plastoquinone (PQ) and plastocyanin (PC) between the domains. In contrast, dephosphorylation of LHCII leads to larger grana that slow the diffusion of PQ and PC, leaving the PQ pool in the stroma more oxidised, thus enhancing the efficiency of CET. The feedback regulation of electron transfer by the downstream metabolism is crucial to plant fitness, since perturbations in the NADPH/ATP ratio can rapidly lead to the inhibition of photosynthesis and photo-oxidative stress.

scholarly journals Role of the HSP70 Homologue from Chloroplasts in the Assembly of the Photosynthetic Apparatus

1993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Nechushtai ◽  
Parag Chitnis
Keyword(s):  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Photosynthetic Apparatus ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Cdna Clones ◽  
Light Harvesting Complex ◽  
Complex Protein ◽  
Chlorophyll Protein Complexes ◽  
Chlorophyll Protein

The major goal of the proposed research was to study the role of a 70-kDa heat shock cognate protein from chloroplasts (ct-HSP70) in the assembly of chlorophyll-protein complexes. The latters are mostly important in allowing photosynthesis to occur. Photosynthesis is at the heart of crop productivity and the knowledge of the biogenesis of the photosynthetic apparatus is essential to manipulate the efficiency of photosynthesis. The characterization of the function of the ct-HSP70 was planned to be studied in vitro by assaying its capability to physically interact with the thylakoid proteins and to assist their assembly into thylakoid membranes. We planned to identify regions in the light-harvesting complex protein (LHCP) that interact with the ct-HSP70 and characterize the interaction between them. We also intended to isolate cDNA clones encoding ct-HSP70, sequence them, express one of them in E. coli and use the purified protein for functional assays. The research in this BARD proposal aimed at providing insights and aid in understanding the mechanism by which plants may respond to the heat stress. Since plants often experience increased temperatures.

scholarly journals The unique photosynthetic apparatus of Pinaceae: analysis of photosynthetic complexes in Picea abies

2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (12) ◽  
pp. 3211-3225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steffen Grebe ◽  
Andrea Trotta ◽  
Azfar A Bajwa ◽  
Marjaana Suorsa ◽  
Peter J Gollan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Picea Abies ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Photosynthetic Apparatus ◽  
Land Plants ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Protein Database ◽  
Light Harvesting Complex ◽  
Mass Spectrometry Identification ◽  
Thylakoid Protein

Abstract Pinaceae are the predominant photosynthetic species in boreal forests, but so far no detailed description of the protein components of the photosynthetic apparatus of these gymnosperms has been available. In this study we report a detailed characterization of the thylakoid photosynthetic machinery of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst). We first customized a spruce thylakoid protein database from translated transcript sequences combined with existing protein sequences derived from gene models, which enabled reliable tandem mass spectrometry identification of P. abies thylakoid proteins from two-dimensional large pore blue-native/SDS-PAGE. This allowed a direct comparison of the two-dimensional protein map of thylakoid protein complexes from P. abies with the model angiosperm Arabidopsis thaliana. Although the subunit composition of P. abies core PSI and PSII complexes is largely similar to that of Arabidopsis, there was a high abundance of a smaller PSI subcomplex, closely resembling the assembly intermediate PSI* complex. In addition, the evolutionary distribution of light-harvesting complex (LHC) family members of Pinaceae was compared in silico with other land plants, revealing that P. abies and other Pinaceae (also Gnetaceae and Welwitschiaceae) have lost LHCB4, but retained LHCB8 (formerly called LHCB4.3). The findings reported here show the composition of the photosynthetic apparatus of P. abies and other Pinaceae members to be unique among land plants.

scholarly journals Photoprotective qH in Arabidopsis occurs in the light-harvesting complex II trimer

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierrick Bru ◽  
Collin J. Steen ◽  
Soomin Park ◽  
Cynthia L. Amstutz ◽  
Emily J. Sylak-Glassman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chlorophyll Fluorescence ◽  
Light Harvesting ◽  
Single Photon ◽  
Photochemical Quenching ◽  
Average Lifetime ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Photosynthetic Membrane ◽  
Light Harvesting Complex ◽  
Complex Ii ◽  
Light Harvesting Complex Ii

Excess light can induce photodamage to the photosynthetic machinery, therefore plants have evolved photoprotective mechanisms such as non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). Different NPQ components have been identified and classified based on their relaxation kinetics and molecular players. The NPQ component qE is induced and relaxed rapidly (seconds to minutes), whereas the NPQ component qH is induced and relaxed slowly (hours or longer). Molecular players regulating qH have recently been uncovered, but the photophysical mechanism of qH and its location in the photosynthetic membrane have not been determined. Using time-correlated single-photon counting analysis of the Arabidopsis thaliana suppressor of quenching 1 mutant (soq1), which displays higher qH than the wild type, we observed shorter average lifetime of chlorophyll fluorescence in leaves and thylakoids relative to wild type. Comparison of isolated photosynthetic complexes from plants in which qH was turned ON or OFF revealed a chlorophyll fluorescence decrease specifically in the trimeric light-harvesting complex II (LHCII) fraction when qH was ON. LHCII trimers are composed of Lhcb1, 2 and 3 proteins, so CRISPR-Cas9 edited and T-DNA insertion lhcb1, lhcb2 and lhcb3 mutants were crossed with soq1. In soq1 lhcb1, soq1 lhcb2, and soq1 lhcb3, qH was not abolished, indicating that no single major Lhcb isoform is necessary for qH. Using transient absorption spectroscopy of isolated thylakoids, no spectral signatures for chlorophyll-carotenoid excitation energy quenching or charge transfer quenching were observed, suggesting that qH may occur through chlorophyll-chlorophyll excitonic interaction.

scholarly journals Proteomic Characterization of the Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1 Photosynthetic Membrane: Identification of New Proteins

2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (20) ◽  
pp. 7464-7474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohua Zeng ◽  
Jung Hyeob Roh ◽  
Stephen J. Callister ◽  
Christine L. Tavano ◽  
Timothy J. Donohue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Proteins ◽  
Rhodobacter Sphaeroides ◽  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Photosynthetic Apparatus ◽  
Energy Utilization ◽  
Alkane Hydroxylase ◽  
Photosynthetic Membrane ◽  
Intracytoplasmic Membrane ◽  
Light Harvesting Complexes ◽  
Pigment Protein Complexes

ABSTRACT The Rhodobacter sphaeroides intracytoplasmic membrane (ICM) is an inducible membrane that is dedicated to the major events of bacterial photosynthesis, including harvesting light energy, separating primary charges, and transporting electrons. In this study, multichromatographic methods coupled with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry, combined with subcellular fractionation, was used to test the hypothesis that the photosynthetic membrane of R. sphaeroides 2.4.1 contains a significant number of heretofore unidentified proteins in addition to the integral membrane pigment-protein complexes, including light-harvesting complexes 1 and 2, the photochemical reaction center, and the cytochrome bc 1 complex described previously. Purified ICM vesicles are shown to be enriched in several abundant, newly identified membrane proteins, including a protein of unknown function (AffyChip designation RSP1760) and a possible alkane hydroxylase (RSP1467). When the genes encoding these proteins are mutated, specific photosynthetic phenotypes are noted, illustrating the potential new insights into solar energy utilization to be gained by this proteomic blueprint of the ICM. In addition, proteins necessary for other cellular functions, such as ATP synthesis, respiration, solute transport, protein translocation, and other physiological processes, were also identified to be in association with the ICM. This study is the first to provide a more global view of the protein composition of a photosynthetic membrane from any source. This protein blueprint also provides insights into potential mechanisms for the assembly of the pigment-protein complexes of the photosynthetic apparatus, the formation of the lipid bilayer that houses these integral membrane proteins, and the possible functional interactions of ICM proteins with activities that reside in domains outside this specialized bioenergetic membrane.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document