Macromolecular physiology of plastids XIV.Viridis mutants in barley: Genetic, fluoroscopic and ultrastructural characterisation

J, Hase T, Jensen P, Hanke GT. Ferredoxin C2 is required for chlorophyll biosynthesis and accumulation of photosynthetic antennae in Arabidopsis

Ferredoxins (Fd) are small iron-sulphur proteins, with sub-types that have evolved for specific redox functions. Ferredoxin C2 (FdC2) proteins are essential Fd homologues conserved in all photosynthetic organisms and a number of different FdC2 functions have been proposed in angiosperms. Here we use RNAi silencing in Arabidopsis thaliana to generate a viable fdC2 mutant line with near-depleted FdC2 protein levels. Mutant leaves have ~50% less chlorophyll a and b, and chloroplasts have poorly developed thylakoid membrane structure. Transcriptomics indicates upregulation of genes involved in stress responses. Although fdC2 antisense plants show increased damage at photosystem II (PSII) when exposed to high light, PSII recovers at the same rate as wild type in the dark. This contradicts literature proposing that FdC2 regulates translation of the D1 subunit of PSII, by binding to psbA transcript. Measurement of chlorophyll biosynthesis intermediates revealed a build-up of Mg-protoporphyrin IX, the substrate of the aerobic cyclase. We localise FdC2 to the inner chloroplast envelope and show that the FdC2 RNAi line has a disproportionately lower protein abundance of antennae proteins, which are nuclear-encoded and must be refolded at the envelope after import.

Barley Viridis-k links an evolutionarily conserved C-type ferredoxin to chlorophyll biosynthesis

Ferredoxins are single-electron carrier proteins involved in various cellular reactions. In chloroplasts, the most abundant ferredoxin accepts electrons from photosystem I and shuttles electrons via ferredoxin NADP+ oxidoreductase to generate NADPH or directly to ferredoxin dependent enzymes. In addition, plants contain other isoforms of ferredoxins. Two of these, named FdC1 and FdC2 in Arabidopsis thaliana, have C-terminal extensions and functions that are poorly understood. Here we identified disruption of the orthologous FdC2 gene in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) mutants at the Viridis-k locus; these mutants are deficient in the aerobic cyclase reaction of chlorophyll biosynthesis. The magnesium-protoporphyrin IX monomethyl ester cyclase is one of the least characterized enzymes of the chlorophyll biosynthetic pathway and its electron donor has long been sought. Agroinfiltrations showed that the viridis-k phenotype could be complemented in vivo by Viridis-k but not by canonical ferredoxin. VirK could drive the cyclase reaction in vitro and analysis of cyclase mutants showed that in vivo accumulation of VirK is dependent on cyclase enzyme levels. The chlorophyll deficient phenotype of viridis-k mutants suggests that VirK plays an essential role in chlorophyll biosynthesis that cannot be replaced by other ferredoxins, thus assigning a specific function to this isoform of C-type ferredoxins.

Linking chlorophyll biosynthesis to a dynamic plastoquinone pool

Chlorophylls are essential cofactors in photosynthesis. All steps in the chlorophyll pathway are well characterized except for the cyclase reaction in which the fifth ring of the chlorophyll molecule is formed during conversion of Mg-protoporphyrin IX monomethyl ester into Protochlorophyllide. The only subunit of the cyclase identified so far, is AcsF (Xantha-l in barley and Chl27 in Arabidopsis). This subunit contains a typical consensus di-iron-binding sequence and belongs to a subgroup of di-iron proteins, such as the plastid terminal oxidase (PTOX) in the chloroplast and the alternative oxidase (AOX) found in mitochondria. In order to complete the catalytic cycle, the irons of these proteins need to be reduced from Fe(3+) to Fe(2+) and either a reductase or another form of reductant is required. It has been reported that the alternative oxidase (AOX) and the plastid terminal oxidase (PTOX) utilize the di-iron center to oxidise ubiquinol and plastoquinol, respectively. In this paper, we have used a specific inhibitor of di-iron proteins as well as Arabidopsis and barley mutants affected in regulation of photosynthetic electron flow, to show that the cyclase step indeed is directly coupled to the plastoquinone pool. Thus, plastoquinol might act as an electron donor for the cyclase reaction and thereby fulfil the role of a cyclase reductase. That would provide a functional connection between the redox status of the thylakoids and the biosynthesis of chlorophyll.

Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses of a pale-green durum wheat mutant shows variations in photosystem components and metabolic deficiencies under drought stress

Background

Leaf pigment content is an important trait involved in environmental interactions. In order to determine its impact on drought tolerance in wheat, we characterized a pale-green durum wheat mutant (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum) under contrasting water availability conditions.

Results

The pale-green mutant was investigated by comparing pigment content and gene/protein expression profiles to wild-type plants at anthesis. Under well-watered (control) conditions the mutant had lower levels of chlorophylls and carotenoids, but higher levels of xanthophyll de-epoxidation compared to wild-type. Transcriptomic analysis under control conditions showed that defense genes (encoding e.g. pathogenesis-related proteins, peroxidases and chitinases) were upregulated in the mutant, suggesting the presence of mild oxidative stress that was compensated without altering the net rate of photosynthesis. Transcriptomic analysis under terminal water stress conditions, revealed the modulation of antioxidant enzymes, photosystem components, and enzymes representing carbohydrate metabolism and the tricarboxylic acid cycle, indicating that the mutant was exposed to greater oxidative stress than the wild-type plants, but had a limited capacity to respond. We also compared the two genotypes under irrigated and rain-fed field conditions over three years, finding that the greater oxidative stress and corresponding molecular changes in the pale-green mutant were associated to a yield reduction.

Conclusions

This study provides insight on the effect of pigment content in the molecular response to drought. Identified genes differentially expressed under terminal water stress may be valuable for further studies addressing drought resistance in wheat.

Composition, architecture and dynamics of the photosynthetic apparatus in higher plants

The process of oxygenic photosynthesis enabled and still sustains aerobic life on Earth. The most elaborate form of the apparatus that carries out the primary steps of this vital process is the one present in higher plants. Here, we review the overall composition and supramolecular organization of this apparatus, as well as the complex architecture of the lamellar system within which it is harbored. Along the way, we refer to the genetic, biochemical, spectroscopic and, in particular, microscopic studies that have been employed to elucidate the structure and working of this remarkable molecular energy conversion device. As an example of the highly dynamic nature of the apparatus, we discuss the molecular and structural events that enable it to maintain high photosynthetic yields under fluctuating light conditions. We conclude the review with a summary of the hypotheses made over the years about the driving forces that underlie the partition of the lamellar system of higher plants and certain green algae into appressed and non-appressed membrane domains and the segregation of the photosynthetic protein complexes within these domains.

Biochemical and structural analyses of a higher plant photosystem II supercomplex of a photosystem I-less mutant of barley. Consequences of a chronic over-reduction of the plastoquinone pool

Photosystem II of higher plants is a multisubunit transmembrane complex composed of a core moiety and an extensive peripheral antenna system. The number of antenna polypeptides per core complex is modulated following environmental conditions in order to optimize photosynthetic performance. In this study, we used a barley (Hordeum vulgare) mutant, viridis zb63, which lacks photosystem I, to mimic extreme and chronic overexcitation of photosystem II. The mutation was shown to reduce the photosystem II antenna to a minimal size of about 100 chlorophylls per photosystem II reaction centre, which was not further reducible. The minimal photosystem II unit was analysed by biochemical methods and by electron microscopy, and found to consist of a dimeric photosystem II reaction centre core surrounded by monomeric Lhcb4 (chlorophyll protein 29), Lhcb5 (chlorophyll protein 26) and trimeric light-harvesting complex II antenna proteins. This minimal photosystem II unit forms arrays in vivo, possibly to increase the efficiency of energy distribution and provide photoprotection. In wild-type plants, an additional antenna protein, chlorophyll protein 24 (Lhcb6), which is not expressed in viridis zb63, is proposed to associate to this minimal unit and stabilize larger antenna systems when needed. The analysis of the mutant also revealed the presence of two distinct signalling pathways activated by excess light absorbed by photosystem II: one, dependent on the redox state of the electron transport chain, is involved in the regulation of antenna size, and the second, more directly linked to the level of photoinhibitory stress perceived by the cell, participates in regulating carotenoid biosynthesis.

Down-regulation of the PSI-F subunit of photosystem I (PSI) in Arabidopsis thaliana. The PSI-F subunit is essential for photoautotrophic growth and contributes to antenna function

The PSI-F subunit of photosystem I is a transmembrane protein with a large lumenal domain. The role of PSI-F was investigated in Arabidopsis plants transformed with an antisense construct of the psaF cDNA. Several plant lines with reduced amounts of the PSI-F subunit were generated. Many of the transgenic plants died, apparently because they were unable to survive without the PSI-F subunit. Plants with 5% of PSI-F were capable of photoautotrophic growth but were much smaller than wild-type plants. The plants suffered severely under normal growth conditions but recovered somewhat in the dark indicating chronic photoinhibition. Photosystem I lacking PSI-F was less stable, and the stromal subunits PSI-C, PSI-D, and PSI-E were present in lower amounts than in wild type. The lack of PSI-F resulted in an inability of light-harvesting complex I-730 to transfer energy to the P700 reaction center. In thylakoids deficient in PSI-F, the steady state NADP(+) reduction rate was only 10% of the wild-type levels indicating a lower efficiency in oxidation of plastocyanin. Surprisingly, the lack of PSI-F also gave rise to disorganization of the thylakoids. The strict arrangement in grana and stroma lamellae was lost, and instead a network of elongated and distorted grana was observed.

Structural analysis of photosystem II in far-red-light-adapted thylakoid membranes. New crystal forms provide evidence for a dynamic reorganization of light-harvesting antennae subunits

We studied two-dimensional crystals of the major pigment-protein complex, photosystem II, in far-red-light-adapted thylakoid membranes of the viridis-zb63 mutant of barley. Significantly larger grana membranes were produced with an increased synthesis of the entire photosystem II complex. These red-light-adapted membranes also contained two-dimensional crystals with a high frequency. Three different crystal forms of photosystem II were observed, providing the following data which further our understanding of the architecture of the native complex. (a) The oligomeric form of photosystem II in the membrane was monomeric in all crystal forms, but with a clear non-crystallographic pseudo-twofold symmetry. This was more apparent on the lumenal face of the complex. (b) The variability of unit cell contacts in different crystal forms implied that the peripheral light-harvesting antenna complex and the core of the complex were loosely connected. These peripheral subunits were predicted to rearrange so that they can either encircle the core complex or associate in parallel channels separated by lines of core complexes. (c) Grana membranes were found to retain a double-layered inside-out character, with a stromal face-to-stromal face packing. However, the presence of a crystal in one membrane did not necessarily impose crystallinity on its pair.

Chlorina and viridis mutants of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) allow assignment of long-wavelength chlorophyll forms to individual Lhca proteins of photosystem I in vivo

The isolated subcomplex LHCI-730 of plant photosystem I (PSI) chlorophyll (Chl) alb binding antenna is a heterodimer of Lhca1 and Lhca4 and has a 77 K fluorescence emission peak at 730 nm (F730). Recently, three Chl spectral forms with 77 K fluorescence emission peaks at 720 nm, 730 nm and 742 nm were identified in native PSI. In an attempt to assign the two longest wavelength emission maxima to peripheral PSI antenna proteins, we performed 77 K fluorescence emission spectroscopy on intact leaves of chlorina and viridis mutants from barley which lack individual LHCI-730 proteins. This approach indicates that F732 is found only in Lhca1 and F742 only in Lhca4, when these proteins are associated with the PSI reaction centre.

Isolation of high-chlorophyll-fluorescence mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana and their characterisation by spectroscopy, immunoblotting and northern hybridisation

Thirty-four recessive photosynthetic mutants of the high-chlorophyll-fluorescence (hcf) phenotype have been isolated by screening 7700 M2 progenies of ethyl methane sulfonate-treated seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana. Most of the mutants isolated were found to be seedling-lethal, but could be grown on sucrose-supplemented media. Chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence induction, absorption changes in the reaction-centre chlorophyll of PS I (P700) at 830 nm and Chl a/Chl b ratios were recorded in order to probe the photosynthetic functions and to define the mutational lesion. These studies were complemented by immunoblot and Northern analyses which finally led to the classification of the mutants into six different groups. Four classes of mutants were affected in PS I, PS II (two different classes) or the intersystem electron-transport chain, respectively. A fifth mutant class was of pleiotropic nature and the sixth class comprised a Chl b-deficient mutant. Several of the mutants showed severe deficiencies in the levels of subunits of PS I, PS II or the cytochrome b6/f complex. Thus the mutational lesions could be located precisely. Only one mutant was defective in the transcript patterns of some plastid-encoded photosynthesis genes. Hence most of the mutants isolated appear to be affected in translational and post-translational regulatory processes of thylakoid membrane biogenesis or in structural genes encoding constituent subunits of the thylakoid protein complexes.

Chlorophyll fluorescence transients in a barley mutant lacking Photosystem I

We have compared the properties of a mutant of barley lacking Photosystem I (viridis-zb (63) ) with the corresponding wild type using modulated fluorescence measurements. The mutant showed two unexpected characteristics. Firstly, there was a slow decline in the fluorescence signal in the light which was dependent on the presence of O2 at concentrations similar to that in air; 2% O2 in N2 had no effect. The observed decline was mainly due to an increase in the non-photochemical quenching. Secondly, in the absence of O2, saturating light pulses caused a pronounced transient decrease in the fluorescence signal; a similar effect could also be observed in wild type plants when neither CO2 nor O2 was present.

Probing in vitro translation products with monoclonal antibodies to chlorophyll a/b-binding proteins of barley thylakoids

The polypeptides of the barley light-harvesting protein of photosystem I (LHCI) share certain epitopes. At least two of these common epitopes are present in chlorophyll a/b-protein 1 (Chla/b-P1 = CP29), as shown by cross-reacting monoclonal antibodies (14). These antibodies were employed for immunological identification of polypeptides translated in vitro in an mRNA-dependent cell-free rabbit reticulocyte lysate. The monoclonal antibody CMpLHCI:2 precipitated only one polypeptide of molecular weight 28 kD from in vitro translates primed with polyA+ RNA. No 28 kD precipitation band was found, if this antibody was mixed with a PSI-200 preparation before it was added to the translate. The translational capacity of the LHCI transcripts isolated from 12 hours greened barley was much higher than those isolated from 6 hours greened barley. Transcripts for LHCI polypeptides were also found among the polyA+ RNA of the mutant viridis-k23, which is devoid of LHCI polypeptides in its thylakoid membranes. The monoclonal antibody CMpCh1a/b-P1:1 precipitated a polypeptide of molecular weight 31 kD from in vitro translates primed with polyA+ RNA. Thus, the cross-reactivity the two antibodies show with the mature proteins is not found when the antibodies are reacted with the precursor proteins.

Immunological characterization of chlorophyll a/b-binding proteins of barley thylakoids

Monoclonal antibodies have been raised against the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-binding proteins of photosystem I (LHCI) using a photosystem (PS) I preparation (PSI-200) wild-type from barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Svaløf's Bonus) as the antigen. These antibodies cross-reacted with a minor light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-protein of PSII (Chla/b-P1=CP29), but not with the major one, LHCII (=Chla/b-P2(**)). Similarly, a monoclonal antibody to Chla/b-P1, elicited by a PSII preparation as the antigen, cross-reacted with LHCI, but not LHCII. This explains why an antigen consisting of LHCII, free of LHCI, but contaminated with Chla/b-P1, can elicit antibodies which cross-react with LHCI. Immunoblot assays showed that LHCI and Chla/b-P1 have at least two epitopes in common. Immunogold labelling of thin-sectioned wild-type thylakoids confirmed a preferential localisation of Chla/b-P1 in grana partition membranes and LHCI in stroma lamellae. The presence of LHCI was demonstrated in barley mutants lacking the PSI reaction centre (viridis-zb (63)) and chlorophyll b (chlorina-f2), and was correlated with the presence of long-wavelength (730 nm) fluorescence emission at 77 K. The mutant viridis-k (23), which has a 77 K long-wavelength fluorescence peak at 720 nm, was shown by immune-blot assay to lack LHCI, although Chla/b-P1 was present.

Chlorophyll-protein complexes of barley photosystem I

Photosystem I (PSI) preparations with a chlorophyll a/b ratio of 6.0 were isolated from barley thylakoids using two different methods. The high-molecular-mass complex (CP1a) which is resolved by non-denaturing gel electrophoresis had the same properties as a PSI preparation (PSI-200) isolated by Triton X-100 solubilisation of thylakoids followed by sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation. This material had a chlorophyll:P700 ratio of 208:1 and was composed of three different chlorophyll-protein complexes which could be separated from each other by solubilising the PSI preparation in dodecyl maltoside followed by sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation. Approximately half of the chlorophyll, including all the chlorophyll b, was located in two antenna complexes designated LHCI-680 and LHCI-730, which were identified by their characteristic low-temperature fluorescence emission spectra. The rest of the chlorophyll a was associated with the PSI reaction centre, P700 Chla-P1, which fluoresced at 720 nm. Each chlorophyll-protein complex had a unique polypeptide composition and characteristic circular dichroic and absorption spectra. The use of dodecyl maltoside instead of dodecyl sulphate resulted in a less denatured form of LHCI-680, which fluoresced at 690 nm at 77 K. One of the sucrose gradient fractions contained a complex consisting of only LHCI-730 and P700 Chla-P1 which fluoresced at 731 nm, indicating that LHCI-730 is structurally associated with P700 Chla-P1 and quenches its fluorescence. Approximately three-quarters of the light-harvesting antenna chlorophyll was in LHCI-730, but only about one-quarter of the normal complement of LHCI-730 was required to quench the reaction centre. By reducing the amount of Triton relative to the chlorophyll concentration, a PSI preparation (chlorophyll a/b ratio of 3.5) with a chlorophyll:P700 ratio of 300:1 was isolated. It contained no photosystem II, but a significant amount of LHCII which was functionally connected to the PSI reaction centre. Reconstitution studies demonstrated that excitation energy transfer from LHCII to PSI requires the presence of LHCI-680, and we propose that, in PSI, the following linear excitation energy transfer sequence occurs: LHCII----LHCI-680----LHCI-730----P700 Chla-P1.

Plastid ultrastructure and photosynthesis in greening petaloid hypsophylls

The ultrastructural and biochemicalphysiological aspects of postfloral greening have been studied in hypsophylls of Heliconia aurantiaca Ghiesbr., Guzmania cf. x magnifica Richter and Spathiphyllum wallisii Regel. In all three species the greening of the hypsophylls is due to plastid transformation, chloroplast formation proceeding from the initially different types of plastids. The degradation process of the original plastid structures and the mode of thylakoid formation are distinct in each case. In none of the species do the transformed plastids look identical to the chloroplasts of the corresponding foliage leaves. On a chlorophyll basis, the rate of photosynthesis of the greened hypsophylls surpasses the rate of the leaves considerably in Spathiphyllum, but is much lower in Heliconia (no data for Guzmania). In all species, anatomy, plastid structure, pigments, 77° K-fluorescence emission, ribulose-1,5-bis-phosphate carboxylase activities and short-term photosynthesis (14)CO2-assimilation patterns prove the greened hypsophylls to be capable of providing additional carbon to the developing fruits, thus supplementing the import of organic matter from the foliage leaves.

Electron transport and chloroplast ultrastructure of a chlorophyll deficient mutant of wheat

A non-lethal chlorophyll deficient mutation was induced by use of the chemical mutagen ethyl methanesulfonate. Chloroplasts from the control and mutant plants were found to be very similar ultrastructurally. Thylakoid membrane volume was only slightly greater in plastids from the control as compared with plastids from the mutant. The chlorophyll content of the mutant was reduced by over 60%. This decrease in chlorophyll was not accompanied by a similar decrease in electron transport. Uncoupled electron transport rate based on a unit chlorophyll basis was nearly twice as great for mutant chloroplasts as for control plastids. However, electron transport rate based on a unit membrane volume was similar in mutant and control plants. At high irradiance the relative quantum requirement of the control and mutant was similar when expressed on membrane volume.