Evidence for the photo-induced oxidation of the primary electron donor P680 in the isolated photosystem II reaction centre

Circular dichroism of the peripheral chlorophylls in photosystem II reaction centers revealed by electrochemical oxidation

Visible absorption spectra and circular dichroism (CD) of the red absorption band of isolated photosystem II reaction centers were measured at room temperature during progressive bleaching by electrochemical oxidation, in comparison with aerobic photochemical destruction, and with anaerobic photooxidation in the presence of the artificial electron acceptor silicomolybdate. Initially, selective bleaching of peripheral chlorophylls absorbing at 672 nm was obtained by electrochemical oxidation at +0.9 V, whereas little selectivity was observed at higher potentials. Illumination in the presence of silicomolybdate did not cause a bleaching but a spectral broadening of the 672-nm band was observed, apparently in response to the oxidation of carotene. The 672-nm absorption band is shown to exhibit a positive CD, which accounts for the 674-nm shoulder in CD spectra at low temperature. The origin of this CD is discussed in view of the observation that all CD disappears with the 680-nm absorption band during aerobic photodestruction.

What is beta-carotene doing in the photosystem II reaction centre?

During photosynthesis carotenoids normally serve as antenna pigments, transferring singlet excitation energy to chlorophyll, and preventing singlet oxygen production from chlorophyll triplet states, by rapid spin exchange and decay of the carotenoid triplet to the ground state. The presence of two beta-carotene molecules in the photosystem II reaction centre (RC) now seems well established, but they do not quench the triplet state of the primary electron-donor chlorophylls, which are known as P(680). The beta-carotenes cannot be close enough to P(680) for triplet quenching because that would also allow extremely fast electron transfer from beta-carotene to P(+)(680), preventing the oxidation of water. Their transfer of excitation energy to chlorophyll, though not very efficient, indicates close proximity to the chlorophylls ligated by histidine 118 towards the periphery of the two main RC polypeptides. The primary function of the beta-carotenes is probably the quenching of singlet oxygen produced after charge recombination to the triplet state of P(680). Only when electron donation from water is disturbed does beta-carotene become oxidized. One beta-carotene can mediate cyclic electron transfer via cytochrome b559. The other is probably destroyed upon oxidation, which might trigger a breakdown of the polypeptide that binds the cofactors that carry out charge separation.

A specific role for tocopherol and of chemical singlet oxygen quenchers in the maintenance of photosystem II structure and function in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

alpha-Tocopherol concentrations were determined at low and high light intensities and compared with the rate of photosynthesis, photosystem II (PS II) and its reaction center D1 protein. Blocking of tocopherol biosynthesis at the 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase by the herbicide pyrazolynate led to a quick disappearance of alpha-tocopherol in high light, as well as of PS II activity and the D1 protein. Homogentisic acid rescued all activities. It is concluded that alpha-tocopherol has a continuous turnover as a scavenger of the singlet oxygen that arises from the quenching by oxygen of the triplet of the PS II reaction center and triggers the degradation of the D1 protein. Thus tocopherols are essential to keep photosynthesis active. We suggest that this is why plants make and need tocopherols. Chemical quenchers of singlet oxygen, notably diphenylamines, completely protect PS II, prevent D1 protein degradation and keep tocopherol levels even at very high light intensities. This supports the notion that 1O2 is the intermediate in light triggered D1 protein turnover.

Triplet formation on a monomeric chlorophyll in the photosystem II reaction center as studied by time-resolved infrared spectroscopy

The process of formation of the triplet state of chlorophyll in the photosystem II (PS II) reaction center complex was studied by means of time-resolved infrared (IR) spectroscopy. Using a dispersive-type IR spectrometer with a time resolution of approximately 55 ns, transient spectra in the C=O stretching region (1760--1600 cm(-1)) were measured at 77 K. The data were analyzed by singular-value decomposition and subsequent least-squares fitting. Two distinct spectral components having different kinetic behaviors were resolved. One had spectral features characterized by negative peaks at 1740 and 1680 cm(-1) and an overall positive background and was assigned to the P(680)(+)Phe(-)/P(680)Phe radical pair by static FTIR measurements of the P(680)(+)/P(680) and Phe(-)/Phe differences. The other had prominent negative and positive peaks at 1668 and 1628 cm(-1), respectively, which were previously assigned to the keto C==O change upon triplet formation of the monomeric chlorophyll denoted as Chl(T) [Noguchi, T., Tomo, T., and Inoue, Y. (1998) Biochemistry 37, 13614-13625]. The former component of P(680)(+)Phe(-)/P(680)Phe exhibited a multiphasic decay with time constants of 77 ns (75%), 640 ns (18%), 8.3 micros (4%), and 0.3 ms (3%), while the latter component of (3)Chl(T)/Chl(T) was formed with a single-exponential rise with a time constant of 57 ns and had a lifetime of 1.5 ms. From the observations that only the two spectral components were resolved without any other triplet intermediates and the time constant of (3)Chl(T) formation roughly agreed with or seemed even faster than that of the major phase of the P(680)(+)Phe(-) decay, two alternative mechanisms of triplet formation are proposed. (i) (3)Chl(T) is directly formed from P(680)(+)Phe(-) by charge recombination at Chl(T), and (ii) (3)P(680) is formed, and then the triplet is transferred to Chl(T) with a time constant of much less than 50 ns. The location of Chl(T) in the D1 subunit as the monomer chlorophyll corresponding to the accessory bacteriochlorophyll in the L subunit of purple bacteria is favored to explain the former mechanism as well as the triplet properties reported in the literature. The physiological role of the triplet formation on Chl(T) is also discussed.

Fourier transform infrared study of the cation radical of P680 in the photosystem II reaction center: evidence for charge delocalization on the chlorophyll dimer

A Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) difference spectrum of the primary electron donor (P680) of photosystem II upon its photooxidation (P680+/P680) was obtained in the frequency region of 1000-3000 cm-1. The reaction center (RC) complex (D1-D2-Cytb559) was used for the measurements in the presence of ferricyanide as an exogenous electron acceptor. Control measurements of electronic absorption (300-1200 nm) showed that illumination of the RC complex at 150 K induced major oxidation of P680 concomitant with oxidation of a carotenoid and an accessory chlorophyll (Chl). Illumination at 250 K also specifically bleached one of the two beta-carotene molecules bound to the RC complex, and the sample thus treated exhibited little formation of a carotenoid cation on subsequent illumination at 150 K. The P680+/P680 FTIR difference spectrum (with minor contamination of Chl+/Chl) was measured at 150 K using this partially carotenoid-deficient RC complex. The spectrum showed a broad positive band centered at approximately 1940 cm-1, which could be ascribed to an infrared electronic transition of P680+ analogous to that previously observed in various bacterial P+. This finding indicates that a positive charge is delocalized over (or hopping between) the two Chl molecules in P680+. The low intensity of this electronic band compared with that of the bacterial band could have three possible explanations: weak resonance interaction between the constituent Chl molecules, an asymmetric structure of P680+, and the difference in Chl species. Bands in the C=O stretching region (1600-1750 cm-1) were interpreted in comparison with resonance Raman spectra of the RC complex. The negative peaks at 1704 and 1679 cm-1 were proposed as candidates for the keto C9=O bands of P680. The observation that neither of these bands agreed with the main keto C9=O band at 1669 cm-1 in the previous 3P680/P680 FTIR spectrum [Noguchi et al. (1993) Biochemistry 32, 7186-7195] led to the idea that the triplet state migrates to a Chl (designated as ChlT) different from P680 at low temperatures. Based on these results, structural models of Chl molecules including P680 and ChlT and their coupling in the cation, triplet, and Qy singlet states are discussed.

Photoinhibition of photosynthesis in vivo results in singlet oxygen production detection via nitroxide-induced fluorescence quenching in broad bean leaves

In plants experiencing environmental stress, the formation of reactive oxygen is often presumed. In this study, singlet oxygen was detected in broad bean (Vicia faba) leaves that were photoinhibited in vivo. Detection was based on the reaction of singlet oxygen with DanePy (dansyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-2,5-dihydro-1H-pyrrole) yielding a nitroxide radical (DanePyO) which is EPR active and also features lower fluorescence compared to DanePy. The two (fluorescent and spin) sensor fuctions of DanePy are commensurate, which makes detecting singlet oxygen possible with a spectrofluorimeter in samples hard to measure with EPR spectroscopy [Kálai, T., Hideg, E., Vass, I., and Hideg, K. (1998) Free Radical Biol. Med. 24, 649-652]. We found that in leaves saturated with DanePy, the fluorescence of this double sensor was decreased when the leaves were photoinhibited by 1500 micromol m-2 s-1 photosynthetically active radiation. This fluorescence quenching is the first direct experimental evidence that photoinhibition of photosynthesis in vivo is accompanied by 1O2 production and is, at least partly, governed by the process characterized as acceptor side-induced photoinhibition in vitro.

Characterization of the low molecular weight photosystem II reaction center subunits and their light-induced modifications by mass spectrometry

A sensitive and simple reverse phase HPLC purification scheme was developed for the rapid separation of the small protein subunits from photosystem II reaction center preparations. The precise molecular masses of the alpha- and beta-subunits of cytochrome b559 and the psbI gene product from pea plants, found to be 4394.6 +/- 0. 6, 9283.6 +/- 0.7, and 4209.5 +/- 0.5 Da, respectively, were then successfully determined for the first time by electrospray- and fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry. Discrepancies between the molecular weights assigned and those calculated from the respective DNA sequences were observed for alpha- and beta-subunits of cytochrome b559. Currently, the nucleotide sequence of the psbI gene product from pea plants is not available. Application of novel mapping and sequencing strategies has assured the elucidation of full primary structures of all of the purified subunits. The modifications identified here include the post-translational processing of the initiating methionine on both subunits of cytochrome b559, NH2-terminal acetylation and an mRNA editing site at residue 26 (Ser --> Phe) on the beta-subunit, and retention of the NH2-terminal formyl-Met on the psbI gene product. In addition, specific oxidation of a single amino acid residue was identified on the psbI gene product and the beta-subunit purified from light-treated reaction center preparations. Overall, these studies provide the first detailed primary structural characterization of the small subunits of the reaction center complex and their associated light-induced modifications.

Photoinhibition of photosystem II from higher plants. Effect of copper inhibition

Strong illumination of Cu(II)-inhibited photosystem II membranes resulted in a faster loss of oxygen evolution activity compared with that of the intact samples. The phenomenon was oxygen- and temperature-dependent. However, D1 protein degradation rate was similar in both preparations and slower than that found in non-oxygen evolving PSII particles (i.e. Mn-depleted photosystem II). These results seem to indicate that during illumination Cu(II)-inhibited samples do not behave as a typical non-oxygen evolving photosystem II. Cytochrome b559 was functional in the presence of Cu(II). The effect of Cu(II) inhibition decreased the amount of photoreduced cytochrome b559 and slowed down the rate of its photoreduction. The presence of Cu(II) during illumination seems to protect P680 against photodamage as occurs in photosystem II reaction centers when the acceptor side is protected. The data were consistent with the finding that production of singlet oxygen was highly reduced in the preparations treated with Cu(II). EPR spin trapping experiments showed that inactivation of Cu(II)-treated samples was dominated by hydroxyl radical, and the loss of oxygen evolution activity was diminished by the presence of superoxide dismutase and catalase. These results indicate that the rapid loss of oxygen evolution activity in the presence of Cu(II) is mainly due to the formation of .OH radicals from superoxide ion via a Cu(II)-catalyzed Haber-Weiss mechanism. Considering that this inactivation process was oxygen-dependent, we propose that the formation of superoxide occurs in the acceptor side of photosystem II by interaction of molecular oxygen with reduced electron acceptor species, and thus, the primarily Cu(II)-inhibitory site in photosystem II is on the acceptor side.

Purification of a Photosystem II reaction center from a thermophilic cyanobacterium using immobilized metal affinity chromatography

Oxygen-evolving PS II particles from the thermophilic cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus are partially purified by centrifugation on a sucrose gradient and are bound to a Chelating Sepharose column loaded with Cu(2+) ions. Bound particles are then transformed into PS II RC complexes by two washing steps. First, washing with a phosphate buffer (pH=6.5) containing 0.02% of SB 12 removes the rest of phycobilins and leaves pure PS II core particles on the column. Second, washing with a phosphate buffer (pH=6.2) containing 0.2 M LiClO4 and 0.05% of DM removes CP 47 and CP 43 and leaves bare PS II RC complexes on the column. These are then eluted with a phosphate buffer containing 1% of dodecylmaltoside (DM). The molar ratio of pigments in the eluate changes with the progress of elution but around the middle of the elution period a nearly stable ratio is maintained of Chl a: Pheo a: Car: Cyt b 559 equal to 2.9: 1: 0.9: 0.8. In these fractions the photochemical separation of charges could be demonstrated by accumulation of reduced pheophytin (ΔA of 430-440 nm) and by the flash induced formation of P680(+) (ΔA at 820 nm). The relatively slow relaxation kinetics of the latter signal (t1/2 ≈ 1 ms) may suggest that in a substantial fraction of the RCs QA remains bound to the complex.

Isolation and characterisation of the Photosystem two reaction centre complex from a double mutant of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

A rapid procedure has been developed for the isolation of the photosystem two reaction centre complex (PS II RC) from a double mutant of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, F54-14, which lacks the Photosystem one complex and the chloroplast ATPase. Thylakoid membranes are solubilised with 1.5% (w/v) Triton X-100 and the PS II RC purified by anion-exchange chromatography using TSK DEAE-650(S) (Merck). The complex has a pigment stoichiometry of approximately six chlorophyll a: two pheophytin a: one cytochrome b-559: one to two β-carotene. It photoaccumulates reduced pheophytin and oxidised P680 in the presence of sodium dithionite and silicomolybdate, respectively. Immunoblotting experiments have confirmed the presence of the D1 and D2 polypeptides in this complex. The α-subunit of cytochrome b-559 was identified by N-terminal sequencing. Comparison of the complex with the PS II RC from pea using SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that their polypeptide compositions were similar. However, the α-subunit of cytochrome b-559 from C. reinhardtii has a lower apparent molecular weight than the pea counterpart whereas the β-subunit is larger.

beta-Carotene quenches singlet oxygen formed by isolated photosystem II reaction centers

By measuring time-resolved luminescence emission at 1270 nm, we have detected singlet oxygen formation by illuminated, reaction centers of photosystem II isolated from Pisum sativum, which is in agreement with earlier work (Macpherson, A. N., Telfer, A., Barber, J., & Truscott, T. G. (1993) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1143, 301-309). In this paper we show that the yield of singlet oxygen is significantly increased if the number of beta-carotene molecules bound per isolated complex is reduced from two to one. We conclude, therefore, that beta-carotene can act as an effective quencher of singlet oxygen in the photosystem II reaction center. This conclusion is supported by the finding that the rate of light-induced irreversible bleaching of chlorins in the reaction center is increased with decreasing beta-carotene levels. The results demonstrate the direct intermediacy of singlet oxygen in causing photooxidative damage within a biological environment and are discussed, specifically, in terms of the role of beta-carotene in protecting photosystem II against photoinhibition.

Irreversible light-induced formation of P680+ and reduced cytochrome b559 in the D1-D2-Cyt b-559 complex at low temperature

Cytochrome b559 in D1-D2-Cyt b-559 complexes from spinach can be photoreduced in the presence of DBMIB at a temperature of 180-240 K upon continuous illumination. The reduction of Cyt b-559 is accompanied by oxidation of P680. At 240 K recombination of P680+ and reduced Cyt b-559 is complete in several seconds. At 220 K and below, the state P680+Cyt b-559red can be trapped for a long time. This indicates that the photoreduced heme is incapable of electron transfer to P680+ at 220 K and below. On the other hand, the chemically reduced heme of Cyt b-559 is oxidized by P680+ at 77 K. These results are consistent with the presence of two kinds of Cyt b-559 hemes in D1-D2-Cyt b-559 complexes which participate in different ways in the photochemical reactions.

Gaussian band analysis of absorption, fluorescence and photobleaching difference spectra of D1/D2/cytb-559 complex

A study of the absorption and fluorescence characteristics of the D1/D2/cytb-559 reaction centre complex of Photosystem II has been carried out by gaussian decomposition of absorption spectra both at room temperature and 72 K and of the room temperature fluorescence spectrum. A five component fit was found in which the absorption and fluorescence sub-bands could be connected by the Stepanov relation. The photobleaching and light-activated degradation in the dark of long wavelength pigments permitted a further characterisation of the absorption bands. The absorption (fluorescence) maxima of the five bands at room temperature are 660 nm (670 nm), 669 nm (675 nm), 675 nm (681 nm), 680 nm (683 nm), 681 nm (689 nm). A novel feature of this analysis is the presence of two approximately isoenergetic absorption bands near 680 nm at room temperature. The narrower one (FWHM=12.5 nm) is attributed to pheophytin while the broader band (FWHM=23 nm) is thought to be P680. The P680 band width is discussed in terms of homogeneous and site inhomogeous band broadening. The P680 fluorescence has a large Stokes shift (≈9 nm) and most fluorescence in the 690-700 nm range is associated with this chromophore.The three accessory pigment bands are broad (FWHM=17-24 nm) and the 660 nm gaussian is largely temperature insensitive thus indicating significant site inhomogeneous broadening.The very slight narrowing of the D1/D2/cytb-559 Qy absorption at crytogenic temperatures is discussed in terms of the coarse spectral inhomogeneity associated with the spectral forms and the apparently large site inhomogeneous broadening of short wavelength accessory pigments.

Effect of trypsin on D1/D 2-cytochrom b 559 Photosystem 2 reaction center complex and reaction center from Rhodopseudomonas viridis

Proteolytic enzyme (trypsin) was used to structurally alter the RCs isolated from plant and bacterium as a way of probing the relation between structure (chromophore-apoprotein interactions) and function (photochemical activity). It was found that neither spectral characteristics (absorption spectrum, the 4th derivative of absorption spectrum) nor photochemical activity (pheophytine photoreduction, P680 photooxidation, etc.) were changed dramatically in D1/D2/cytochrom b 559 PS 2 reaction center complex digested with trypsin. The PS 2 RC treated with trypsin migrates by one green band during electrophoresis with dodecylmaltoside. The peptides with a molecular mass higher than 3-4 kDa were not separated from PS 2 RC. These data indicate that digestion of D1 and D2 proteins does not disturb yet the conformation of peptides or their interactions in so-called 'core' of RC and the native state of pigments. In contrast to that, the RC from Rhodopseudomonas viridis treated with enzyme has changed absorption spectrum and lost photochemical activity. The stability of the bacterial RC increased after exchange of LDAO by dodecylmaltoside.

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.

Enhanced susceptibility of the oxidized and unprotonated forms of high potential cytochrome b-559 toward DCMU

The nature of interaction of cytochrome b-559 high potential (HP) with electron transport on the reducing side of photosystem II was investigated by measuring the susceptibility of cytochrome b-559HP to 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU) under different conditions. Submicromolar DCMU concentrations decreased the rate of absorbance change corresponding to cytochrome b-559HP photoreduction while the amplitude was lowered at higher concentrations (up to 10 μM). Appreciable extents of cytochrome b-559HP photoreduction were observed at DCMU concentrations which completely abolished the electron transport from water to methyl viologen under the same experimental conditions. However, the susceptibility of cytochrome b-559HP to DCMU increased with the degree of cytochrome b-559HP oxidation, induced either by ferricyanide or by illumination of low intensity (2 W/m(2)) of red light in the presence of 2 μM carbonyl cyanide-m-chlorophenylhydrazone. Also, the DCMU inhibition was more severe when the pH increased from 6.5 to 8.5, indicating that the unprotonated form of cytochrome b-559HP is more susceptible to DCMU. These results demonstrate that cytochrome b-559HP can accept electrons prior to the QB site, probably via QA although both QA and QB can be involved to various extents in this reaction. We suggest that the redox state and the degree of protonation of cytochrome b-559HP alter its interaction with the reducing side of photosystem II.