Does the trimeric form of the Photosystem 1 reaction center of cyanobacteria in vivo exist?

A comparative fluorescence kinetics study of Photosystem I monomers and trimers from Synechocystis PCC 6803

Picosecond time-resolved fluorescence measurements have been performed as a function of emission wavelengths in order to investigate the possible functional differences between monomeric and trimeric Photosystem I (PS I) particles from a cyanobacterium Synechocystis. Applying global analysis, four kinetic components were found necessary to describe the fluorescecne decay for both monomers and trimers of PS I. The lifetimes and spectra of the respective components are quite similar, indicating that they can be attributed to identical processes in both the monomers and trimers. It is concluded that both forms of PS I are capable of efficient energy transfer and charge separation, in agreement with a physiological role of both forms. Small differences in the fluorescence decays are discussed in terms of a slightly higher ratio of red emitting pigments per reaction centre in trimers of PS I. A comparison to Synechococcus PS I particles reveals the higher red chlorophyll content of the latter.

Supramolecular architecture of cyanobacterial thylakoid membranes: How is the phycobilisome connected with the photosystems?

Cyanobacteria, as the most simple organisms to perform oxygenic photosynthesis differ from higher plants especially with respect to the thylakoid membrane structure and the antenna system used to capture light energy. Cyanobacterial antenna systems, the phycobilisomes (PBS), have been shown to be associated with Photosystem 2 (PS 2) at the cytoplasmic side, forming a PS 2-PBS-supercomplex, the structure of which is not well understood. Based on structural data of PBS and PS 2, a model for such a supercomplex is presented. Its key features are the PS 2 dimer as prerequisite for formation of the supercomplex and the antiparallel orientation of PBS-cores and the two PS 2 monomers which form the 'contact area' within the supercomplex. Possible consequences for the formation of 'superstructures' (PS 2-PBS rows) within the thylakoid membrane under so-called 'state 1' conditions are discussed. As there are also indications for specific functional connections of PBS with Photosystem 1 (PS 1) under so-called 'state 2' conditions, we show a model which reconciles the need for a structural interaction between PBS and PS 1 with the difference in structural symmetry (2-fold rotational symmetry of PBS-cores, 3-fold rotational symmetry of trimeric PS 1). Finally, the process of dynamic coupling and uncoupling of PBS to PS 1 and PS 2, based on the presented models, shows analogies to mechanisms for the regulation of photosynthetic electron flow in higher plants-despite the very different organization of their thylakoid membranes in comparison to cyanobacteria.

Evidence for the existence of trimeric and monomeric Photosystem I complexes in thylakoid membranes from cyanobacteria

In cyanobacteria, solubilization of thylakoid membranes by detergents yields both monomeric and trimeric Photosystem I (PS I) complexes in variable amounts. We present evidence for the existence of both monomeric and trimeric PS I in cyanobacterial thylakoid membranes with the oligomeric state depending 'in vitro' on the ion concentration. At low salt concentrations (i.e.≤10 mM MgSO4) PS I is mainly extracted as a trimer from these membranes and at high salt concentrations (i.e.≥150 mM MgSO4) nearly exclusively as a monomer, irrespective of the type of salt used (i.e. mono- or bivalent ions) and the temperature (i.e. 4°C or 20°C). Once solubilized, the PS I trimer is stable over a wide range of ion concentrations (i.e. beyond 0.5 M). A model is presented which suggests a monomer-oligomer equilibrium of PS I, but also of PS II and the cyt. b6/f-complex in the cyanobacterial thylakoid membrane. The possible physiological role of this equilibrium in the regulation of state transitions is discussed.

Steady-state polarized light spectroscopy of isolated Photosystem I complexes

Monomeric and trimeric Photosystem I core complexes from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803 and LHC-I containing Photosystem I (PS I-200) complexes from spinach have been characterized by steady-state, polarized light spectroscopy at 77 K. The absorption spectra of the monomeric and trimeric core complexes from Synechocystis were remarkably similar, except for the amplitude of a spectral component at long wavelength, which was about twice as large in the trimeric complexes. This spectral component did not contribute significantly to the CD-spectrum. The (77 K) steady-state emission spectra showed prominent peaks at 724 nm (for the Synechocystis core complexes) and at 735 nm (for PS I-200). A comparison of the excitation spectra of the main emission band and the absorption spectra suggested that a significant part of the excitations do not pass the red pigments before being trapped by P-700. Polarized fluorescence excitation spectra of the monomeric and trimeric core complexes revealed a remarkably high anisotropy (∼0.3) above 705 nm. This suggested one or more of the following possibilities: 1) there is one red-most pigment to which all excitations are directed, 2) there are more red-most pigments but with (almost) parallel orientations, 3) there are more red-most pigments, but they are not connected by energy transfer. The high anisotropy above 705 nm of the trimeric complexes indicated that the long-wavelength pigments on different monomers are not connected by energy transfer. In contrary to the Synechocystis core complexes, the anisotropy spectrum of the LHC I containing complexes from spinach was not constant in the region of the long-wavelength pigments, and decreased significantly below 720 nm, the wavelength where the long-wavelength pigments on the core complexes start to absorb. These results suggested that in spinach the long-wavelength pigments on core and LHC-I are connected by energy transfer and have a non-parallel average Qy(0-0) transitions.

Purification and crystallization of Photosystem I complex from a phycobilisome-less mutant of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus PCC 7002

An active photosystem (PSI) complex was isolated from a phycobilisome-less mutant of the mesophilic cyanobacterium Synechococcus PCC 7002 by a mild procedure. Purification of PS I was achieved using a sucrose density gradient and an isoelectric focussing subsequent to the extraction of PSI from thylakoids with dodecyl-β-maltoside. Electron microscopy and gel filtration HPLC suggested that the isolated complex represents a trimeric form of PSI. The trimeric form was resistant to pH or detergent exchange. A 'molecular weight' of 690 kDa to 760 kDa has been determined for the complex by gel filtration HPLC in several detergents or mixtures of detergents.The PSI complex contains the polypeptides of the psaA, psaB, psaC, psaD, psaE, psaL gene products and two small polypeptides as determined by SDS-PAGE and N-terminal sequencing; its antenna size is 77±2 Chl a/P700. The full set of Fe-S clusters (FA, FB and FX) was observed by EPR-spectroscopy. A preliminary characterization of crystals obtained from this preparation was carried out using SDS-PAGE, optical and EPR spectroscopy.