Structure of photosystems I and II

Physiological and transcriptomic analysis reveals the toxicological mechanisms of polystyrene micro- and nano-plastics in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

With the accumulation of plastic waste in the environment, the toxicity of micro- and nano-plastics (MNPs) to microalgae has attracted increasing attention. However, the underlying toxic mechanisms of MNPs remain to be elucidated. In this study, we synthesized micro- and nano-scale of polystyrene MNPs (PS MNPs) to investigate their toxicity and toxic mechanisms in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. We found that PS MNPs significantly inhibit the production of photosynthetic pigments and increase soluble protein content. The detailed analysis of results shows that both materials affect photosynthetic efficiency by damaging the donor side, reaction center, and electron transfer of photosystem II. Moreover, compared to PS MPs, PS NPs have a greater negative impact on algal cells. Analyzing the transcriptome of cells suggests that the most sensitive metabolic pathways in response to PS MNPs involve oxidative phosphorylation, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, and photosynthesis. Especially, genes related to photosynthesis and oxidative phosphorylation showed significant changes in expression after exposure to PS MNPs. This study provided molecular-level insights into the toxic mechanisms of PS MNPs on microalgae.

Photoelectrochemistry of a photosystem I - Ferredoxin construct on ITO electrodes

In this study, photobioelectrodes based on a ferredoxin-modified photosystem I (PSI-Fd) from Thermosynechococcus vestitus have been prepared and characterized regarding the direct electron transfer between PSI-Fd and the electrode. The modified PSI with the covalently linked ferredoxin (Fd) on its stromal side has been immobilized on indium-tin-oxide (ITO) electrodes with a 3-dimensional inverse-opal structure. Compared to native PSI, a lower photocurrent and a lower onset potential of the cathodic photocurrent have been observed. This can be mainly attributed to a different adsorption behavior of the PSI-Fd-construct onto the 3D ITO. However, the overall behavior is rather similar to PSI. First experiments have been performed for applying this PSI-Fd photobioelectrode for enzyme-driven NADPH generation. By coupling the electrode system with ferredoxin-NADP+-reductase (FNR), first hints for the usage of photoelectrons for biosynthesis have been collected by verifying NADPH generation.

The structure of photosystem I from a high-light-tolerant cyanobacteria

Photosynthetic organisms have adapted to survive a myriad of extreme environments from the earth's deserts to its poles, yet the proteins that carry out the light reactions of photosynthesis are highly conserved from the cyanobacteria to modern day crops. To investigate adaptations of the photosynthetic machinery in cyanobacteria to excessive light stress, we isolated a new strain of cyanobacteria, Cyanobacterium aponinum 0216, from the extreme light environment of the Sonoran Desert. Here we report the biochemical characterization and the 2.7 Å resolution structure of trimeric photosystem I from this high-light-tolerant cyanobacterium. The structure shows a new conformation of the PsaL C-terminus that supports trimer formation of cyanobacterial photosystem I. The spectroscopic analysis of this photosystem I revealed a decrease in far-red absorption, which is attributed to a decrease in the number of long- wavelength chlorophylls. Using these findings, we constructed two chimeric PSIs in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 demonstrating how unique structural features in photosynthetic complexes can change spectroscopic properties, allowing organisms to thrive under different environmental stresses.

Probing Protein Secondary Structure Influence on Active Centers with Hetero Two-Dimensional Correlation (Resonance) Raman Spectroscopy: A Demonstration on Cytochrome C

The functionality of active centers in proteins is governed by the secondary and higher structure of proteins which often lead to structures in the active center that are different from the structures found in protein-free models of the active center. To elucidate this structure-function relationship, it is therefore necessary to investigate both the protein structure and the local structure of the active center. In this work, we investigate the application of hetero (resonance) Raman two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS) to this problem. By employing a combination of near-infrared-Fourier transform-Raman- and vis-resonance Raman spectroscopy, we could show that this combination of techniques is able to directly probe the structure-function relationship of proteins. We were able to correlate the transition of the heme center in cytochrome c from low to high spin with changes in the secondary structure with the above mentioned two spectroscopic in situ techniques and without sample preparation. Thereby, we were able to reveal that the combination of a spectroscopic method to selectively observe the active center with a technique that monitors the whole system offers a promising toolkit to investigate the structure-function relationship of proteins with photoactive centers in general.

Blue and Far-Red Light Affect Area and Number of Individual Leaves to Influence Vegetative Growth and Pigment Synthesis in Lettuce

Published work indicates that high percentage of blue light can enhance pigment levels but decreases growth, while addition of far-red light to growth light can increase quantum efficiency and photosynthesis in leafy greens. Combining high-energy blue light with low-energy far-red light may increase both vegetative growth and pigment levels. However, the effect of high-energy blue and low-energy far-red light on the vegetative growth and pigments synthesis is unclear. This information can be potentially useful for enhancing the levels of pigments with nutritional value (e.g., beta-carotene and anthocyanins) in the produce grown in vertical farms. We grew romaine lettuce (cv. Amadeus) under similar light intensity (approximately 130 μmol⋅m-2⋅s-1) but different proportions of red: blue: far-red including 90:10: 0 ("High-R"), 50: 50: 0 ("High-B"), and 42: 42: 16 ("High-B+FR") for 31 days. Results indicated that canopy area and leaf photosynthetic rate of lettuce plants was reduced in the High-B, thereby reducing plant growth. We did not observe photosynthesis enhancement in the High-B+FR. Instead, plants clearly showed photomorphogenic effects. The phytochrome photostationary state (PSS) decreased with far-red addition, resulting in reduced leaf number per plant. This was likely to shift the allocation of resources toward elongation growth for shade avoidance. Further, we observed an increase in the area of individual leaves, canopy area, and shoot dry weight in the High-B+FR. However, these appear to be an indirect consequence of decreased leaf number per plant. Our results also indicate that changes in expansion growth at individual leaf scale largely regulated pigment concentration in plants. As individual leaf area became smaller (e.g., High-B) or larger (e.g., High-B+FR), the levels of pigments including chlorophylls and beta-carotene increased or decreased, respectively. Area of individual leaves also positively influenced canopy area (and likely light interception) and shoots dry weight (or vegetative growth). Our study provides additional insights into the effects of high-energy blue and low-energy far-red light on individual leaf number and leaf growth, which appear to control plant growth and pigment levels in lettuce.

Synthesis and characterization of chlorophyll a enol derivatives: Chlorophyll a tert-butyldimethylsilyl-enol ether and 131-deoxo-131, 132-didehydro-chlorophyll a

Using the sterically hindered base, 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene, for enolization and tert-butyldimethylsilyl-trifluoromethanesulfonate for silylation, chlorophyll (Chl) [Formula: see text] produced after 15 min at 0 [Formula: see text]C in deaerated pyridine solution under argon, after work-up and chromatographic purification on a sucrose column, tert-butyldimethylsilyl-enol ether of Chl [Formula: see text] in a yield of 77%. The 131-deoxo-131,132-didehydro-chlorophyll [Formula: see text], was obtained in a yield of 23% through a reaction sequence, where Chl [Formula: see text] was first reduced with sodium borohydride to 13[Formula: see text]-hydroxy-Chl [Formula: see text], which via demetalation yielded 13[Formula: see text]-hydroxypheophytin [Formula: see text]. In the presence of the sterically hindered base, 1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalene, trifluoroacetylimidazole dehydrated 13[Formula: see text]-hydroxypheophytin [Formula: see text] to 131-deoxo-131,132-didehydro-pheophytin [Formula: see text], which after metalation yielded 131-deoxo-131,132-didehydro-Chl [Formula: see text]. Using 1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalene and trifluoroacetylimidazole, the straight conversion of 13[Formula: see text]-hydroxy-Chl [Formula: see text] to 131-deoxo-131,132-didehydro-Chl [Formula: see text] was found unsuccessful. The major products were characterized by electronic absorption spectra (UV-vis) and practically completely assigned 1H and [Formula: see text]C NMR spectra. Some intermediates of the syntheses were also characterized by ESI-TOF mass spectra. Compared with Chl [Formula: see text], the macrocyclic ring-current in the synthesized Chl [Formula: see text] enol derivatives was found weakened by the expansion of the [Formula: see text]-system to include the isocyclic ring E. Nevertheless, these enol derivatives were still considered to be diamagnetic and aromatic. The possibility of the functional role of the enol derivatives of chlorophyll in photosynthesis is discussed.

Lipids in photosynthetic reaction centres: structural roles and functional holes

Photosynthetic proteins power the biosphere. Reaction centres, light harvesting antenna proteins and cytochrome b(6)f (or bc(1)) complexes are expressed at high levels, have been subjected to an intensive spectroscopic, biochemical and mutagenic analysis, and several have been characterised to an informatively high resolution by X-ray crystallography. In addition to revealing the structural basis for the transduction of light energy, X-ray crystallography has brought molecular insights into the relationships between these multicomponent membrane proteins and their lipid environment. Lipids resolved in the X-ray crystal structures of photosynthetic proteins bind light harvesting cofactors, fill intra-protein cavities through which quinones can diffuse, form an important part of the monomer-monomer interface in multimeric structures and may facilitate structural flexibility in complexes that undergo partial disassembly and repair. It has been proposed that individual lipids influence the biophysical properties of reaction centre cofactors, and so affect the rate of electron transfer through the complex. Lipids have also been shown to be important for successful crystallisation of photosynthetic proteins. Comparison of the three types of reaction centre that have been structurally characterised reveals interesting similarities in the position of bound lipids that may point towards a generic requirement to reinforce the structure of the core electron transfer domain. The crystallographic data are also providing new opportunities to find molecular explanations for observed effects of different types of lipid on the structure, mechanism and organisation of reaction centres and other photosynthetic proteins.