Inactivation of chlorophyllase by negatively charged plant membrane lipids

The lipid dependence of diadinoxanthin de-epoxidation presents new evidence for a macrodomain organization of the diatom thylakoid membrane

The present study shows that thylakoid membranes of the diatom Cyclotella meneghiniana contain much higher amounts of negatively charged lipids than higher plant or green algal thylakoids. Based on these findings, we examined the influence of SQDG on the de-epoxidation reaction of the diadinoxanthin cycle and compared it with results from the second negatively charged thylakoid lipid PG. SQDG and PG exhibited a lower capacity for the solubilization of the hydrophobic xanthophyll cycle pigment diadinoxanthin than the main membrane lipid MGDG. Although complete pigment solubilization took place at higher concentrations of the negatively charged lipids, SQDG and PG strongly suppressed the de-epoxidation of diadinoxanthin in artificial membrane systems. In in vitro assays employing the isolated diadinoxanthin cycle enzyme diadinoxanthin de-epoxidase, no or only a very weak de-epoxidation reaction was observed in the presence of SQDG or PG, respectively. In binary mixtures of the inverted hexagonal phase forming lipid MGDG with the negatively charged bilayer lipids, comparable suppression took place. This is in contrast to binary mixtures of MGDG with the neutral bilayer lipids DGDG and PC, where rapid and efficient de-epoxidation was observed. In complex lipid mixtures resembling the lipid composition of the native diatom thylakoid membrane, we again found strong suppression of diadinoxanthin de-epoxidation due to the presence of SQDG or PG. We conclude that, in the native thylakoids of diatoms, a strict separation of the MGDG and SQDG domains must occur; otherwise, the rapid diadinoxanthin de-epoxidation observed in intact cells upon illumination would not be possible.

Biocatalysis of immobilized chlorophyllase in a ternary micellar system

The immobilization of chlorophyllase was optimized by physical adsorption on various inorganic supports, including alumina, celite, Dowex-1-chloride, glass beads and silica gel. The enzyme was also immobilized in different media, including water, Tris-HCl buffer solution and a ternary micellar system containing Tris-HCl buffer solution, hexane and surfactant. The highest immobilization efficiency (84.56%) and specific activity (0.34 mumol hydrolyzed chlorophyll mg protein-1 per min) were obtained when chlorophyllase was suspended in Tris-HCl buffer solution and adsorbed onto silica gel. The effect of different ratios of chlorophyllase to the support and the optimum incubation time for the immobilization of chlorophyllase were determined to be 1-4 and 60 min, respectively. The experimental results showed that the optimum pH and temperature for the immobilized chlorophyllase were 8.0 and 35 degrees C, respectively. The use of optimized amounts of selected membrane lipids increased the specific activity of the immobilized chlorophyllase by approximately 50%. The enzyme kinetic studies indicated that the immobilized chlorophyllase showed a higher affinity towards chlorophyll than pheophytin as substrate.