Transient absorption spectroscopy of the primary electron donor, P680, in the isolated photosystem II reaction centre

Bicarbonate stimulates the electron donation from Mn²⁺ to P₆₈₀⁺ in isolated D1/D2/cytochrome b559 complex

Influence of bicarbonate on the efficiency of the electron donation from Mn(2+) to P₆₈₀(+) in isolated D1/D2/cytochrome b559 complex was investigated. All the experiments were carried out in a medium depleted of HCO₃(-)/CO₂. Kinetics of photoinduced absorbance changes (ΔA) at different wavelengths and decrease of chlorophyll fluorescence yield (-ΔF) related to photoaccumulation of reduced pheophytin, the intermediary electron acceptor of photosystem II (PSII), in the presence of Mn(2+) under anaerobic conditions were measured. Addition of bicarbonate (1 mM) increased the amplitude of these ΔA and -ΔF at least by a factor of 3. Measurements of the photoinduced ΔA, related to photooxidation of the primary electron donor of PSII, chlorophyll P₆₈₀, were done in the presence of silicomolybdate as electron acceptor. These results show that the addition of 0.05 mM Mn(2+) alone or jointly with 1 mM bicarbonate induces a 20% and 70%-decrease of the magnitude of the ΔA at 680 nm. The effect of Mn(2+) (in the presence and absence of bicarbonate) was completely eliminated by the addition of 12 mM EDTA. All these bicarbonate effects were not observed if MgCl₂ or formate were used instead of MnCl₂ and bicarbonate, respectively. In the absence of Mn(2+), bicarbonate induced none of the mentioned above effects (increase of photoaccumulation of reduced pheophytin and decrease of photooxidation of P680). The presented data suggest that bicarbonate stimulates the electron donation from Mn(2+) to D1/D2/cyt b559 reaction center evidently due to formation of easily oxidizable Mn-bicarbonate complexes.

Photosystem II reaction center with altered pigment-composition: reconstitution of a complex containing five chlorophyll a per two pheophytin a with modified chlorophylls

Pigment-depleted Photosystem II reaction centers (PS II-RCs) from a higher plant (pea) containing five chlorophyll a (Chl) per two pheophytin a (Phe), were treated with Chl and several derivatives under exchange conditions [FEBS Lett. 434 (1998) 88]. The resulting reconstituted complexes were compared to those obtained by pigment exchange of "conventional" PS II-RCs containing six Chl per two Phe. (1) The extraction of one Chl is fully reversible. (2) The site of extraction is the same as the one into which previously extraneous pigments have been exchanged, most likely the peripheral D1-H118. (3) Introducing an efficient quencher (Ni-Chl) into this site results in only 25% reduction of fluorescence, indicating incomplete energy equilibration among the "core" and peripheral chlorophylls.

ENDOR and special triple resonance studies of chlorophyll cation radicals in photosystem 2

Electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) and special triple (ST) resonance spectroscopies have been used to study the cation radicals of the primary donor, P680, and two secondary donor chlorophylls (Chl) in photosystem 2 (PS2). Two different preparations were employed, Tris-washed PS2 membranes and PS2 reaction centers (D1-D2-I-Cytb559 complex). One secondary donor Chl a cation radical, Chl1.+, was generated in the Tris-washed preparation, while the P680.+ radical cation and a further Chl a cation radical, Chl2.+, were produced in the reaction center preparation. The ENDOR spectrum of the primary donor radical cation of photosystem 1 (P700.+) is also presented for comparison. Hyperfine coupling constants for methyl groups have been measured for all three PS2 radical species and assigned by comparison with previously published spectra of Chl a radicals in vitro. Electron spin densities were calculated from these hyperfine couplings. Comparison of ENDOR spectral features with those of Chla.+ in vitro indicates similar values for Chl1.+ and Chl2.+ radicals but an apparent reduction in unpaired electron spin density for P680.+. It has been proposed from the more detailed studies of purple bacterial reaction centers that such a reduction in spin density can be interpreted as a delocalization over two Chl a molecules. Our calculations therefore suggest that P680.+ is a weakly coupled chlorophyll pair with 82% of the unpaired electron spin located on one chlorophyll of the pair at 15 K. Environmental or geometrical changes to the chlorin ring structure to give a novel monomeric primary donor are also possible.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Pigment stoichiometry of a newly isolated D1-D2-Cyt b559 complex from the higher plant Beta vulgaris L

Two D1-D2-Cyt b559 complexes with different pigment stoichiometry were isolated from the higher plant B. vulgaris. The procedures for isolating both complexes only differed in the washing time of the DEAE column with 50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.2, 0.05% Triton X-100 and 30 mM NaCl. When the column was washed until the eluate had an absorbance of 0.01 at 670 nm, the isolated D1-D2-Cyt b559 complex presented a pigment stoichiometry of 6 chlorophyll a, 2 beta-carotene, and 1 cytochrome b559 per 2 pheophytin a. In contrast, when the column was exhaustively washed until the eluate reached an absorbance of 0.005 at 670 nm, the complex had a stoichiometry of 4 chlorophyll a, 1 beta-carotene, and 1 cytochrome b559 per 2 pheophytin a. We think that the former stoichiometry corresponds to that of the native D1-D2-Cyt b559 complex. Moreover, both preparations showed 2 mol of pheophytin a per 1 mol of reaction center protein.